Post rock, jazz and ambient maestros, The Album Leaf, makes its anticipated return to Singapore after a string of sold-out performances at the last Mosaic Music Festival here in 2007. With a successful full-length album, A Chorus Of Storytellers, just out, as well as the opportunity to play in a spanking new Live Music venue (TAB), front-man Jimmy LaValle and his band look set to command and conquer.

The Album Leaf plays over 9 and 10 Septemer at TAB. Tickets on sale now at www.tab.com.sg.

www.thealbumleaf.com

This Friday, La Maison is topping itself, bringing you not one, not two, but three acts in one night! They ain’t calling it a menage a trois for no reason. In the club’s main arena, you may get your ears tuned to Linkwood, a top-notch player on the electronic dance scene, in the vein of Juan Atkins and Larry Heard. And in the VIP loft, you’ll find Jus-Ed, one of the world’s Top 100 DJs (according to a Resident Advisor poll) who’s adventurous and spiritual brand of house music you’ll surely love. He comes along with Levon Vincent, his fellow label mate and techno whiz.

Catch these three acts at La Maison on 3 September.

You may already have heard the buzz about Sanrio and Dr. Martens’ collaboration across a series of limited edition footwear. Well, to launch the collection on our shores, we’ll be getting one stylin’ party on 1 September. Happening at this event will also be a competition to find Singapore’s very own Susanna Lau, the famed UK fashion blogger with an eclectic and cutting edge take on fashion, who’s fronting the collab. Join in by simply showing up at the party in your best Sanrio-inspired outfit (with your preferred Sanrio x Dr. Martens boots, of course) and getting yourself snapped at the Sanrio x Dr. Martens photo booth. Winners get to walk off with $1,000 worth of Dr. Martens shoes and a feature on Susie Bubble’s blog! If you’ve got it, come flaunt it!

The Sanrio x Dr. Martens launch party happens on 1 September at Dr. Martens’ flagship store at Orchard Central, #03-05, from 12 to 8pm.

The White Rabbit turns two and how better to celebrate with a party manned by House of House. These two dudes from NYC have been causing quite the hoo-ha with their dance floor-friendly debut “Rushing To Paradise (Walking These Streets)”, which comes complete with all sorts of disco fluorishes - ecstatic, yet emotional. Expect more of the same when the House heads down with their record bags.

Come toast to The White Rabbit’s 2nd anniversary alongside House of House on Saturday, 28 August.

www.myspace.com/mockandtoof

Funky4love has been spreading its conceptual party themes, cutting edge music, style and charisma all over the world. This August, they return to their second home here Singapore with residents DJs Hagenaar & Albrecht, who will both spread some funky house vibes across your cheeks and make you smile.

Get funky for love at Attica Too on Saturday, 28 August.

www.funky4love.com

Because Gilles Peterson’s got the whole world in his hands, it’s only logical that he’s the one bringing us that lil’ something called Worldwide Festival. Singapore’s already had its taste of two Worldwide happenings, but the third time’s always the charm. This year’s Worldwide takes the form of intimate club sessions to be held in Zouk, and thanks to Gilles’ good ear and even better rep, you can again expect a line-up that’s nothing short of class. Here are the unusual suspects: dOP, mad electronic folk outfit from Paris; Dorian Concept, Austrian wunderkind with killer mutant grooves; Jazztronik, Ryota Nozaki’s idea of nu jazz; Ikonika, new skool hip hop femme; Dam Funk, the funk machine from Funkmosphere; Zed Bias, godfather of dubstep; Lefto, hip hop head from Belgium; and of course, Gilles Peterson himself.

Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival Sessions take place on 27 and 28 August at Zouk. One-day tickets are priced at $30 (incl. two drinks for all outlets) each and two-day tickets are priced at $50 (incl. four drinks for all outlets) each. There are no pre-sale tickets. Visit www.worldwidefestival.com and www.zoukclub.com for more details.

We love Sentosa. And they’ve just given us another reason to love our idyllic island escapade in the form of 80 talented performers across five outlets. Music by the Beach is a music series that’s happening every Saturday from August to September, featuring sounds brought in from all around the world from renowned live bands to artiste collabs, each performing a different monthly genre so that all of you can have a slice of the cake regardless of your taste. The Afro-Cuban Latin band will be providing the entertainment tomorrow, featuring Marco Alonso and Eric Li and their big bag of latin and jazz.

Music by the Beach takes every Sat till September, from 6pm - 10.30pm at Siloso Beach.

www.sentosa.com.sg

Over the next month or so, Noise Singapore will be holding a handful of workshops for that should help grow your creative muscle. Here’s how its art, design and photography calendar is shaping up.

TOP-TEN PHOTO TIPS BY ERNEST GOH
4 SEPTEMBER, 2PM TO 4PM AT THE ARTS HOUSE SCREENING ROOM
Acclaimed photog Ernest Goh (PIXERN Photography) has 10 invaluable photo tips to share, as gleaned through his decade in professional shooting and personal experiences. These handy pointers should help set you on your way to creating better images with a stronger narrative sense.

MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY PICTURE - INSIGHTS INTO ILLUSTRATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON OUR VISUAL SENSES BY LEE WAI LENG (FLEECIRCUS)
11 SEPTEMBER, 2PM TO 4.30PM AT THE ARTS HOUSE SCREENING ROOM
Lee Wai Leng of Fleecircus shares her decade-strong experiences in the illustration field, allowing aspiring illustrators a glimpse into the art scene in Singapore, as well as the impact and role of illustration in advertising and new media.

CHARACTER DESIGN JAM! – A HANDS-ON WORKSHOP SESSION WITH MRB AKA BEN QWEK
18 SEPTEMBER, 2PM TO 4.30PM AT THE ARTS HOUSE SCREENING ROOM
Whether you’re a illustrator by profession or hobby, Ben Quek’s insights into character design - which cover processes, form and functionality - should make for fine tips. Attendees are encouraged to bring along their laptops/Wacom tablets to create their own characters during the workshop, as Ben will also be providing feedback.

LIGHTING EXPERIMENTS WORKSHOP BY SEAN LEE
25 SEPTEMBER, 2PM TO 5PM AT WOODLANDS REGIONAL LIBRARY TRAINING ROOM, B1
Lighting may be a tricky aspect of photography, but nothing seasoned photog Sean Lee doesn’t know about. In this workshop, he shares essential knowledge on the use of available and ambient lighting, light-painting and the effective use of flash units. Participants should come with their DSLRs and a basic knowledge of photography principles.

To sign up for any of these workshops, email its title, your name, NRIC, contact number and a link to your Noise profile page to workshop@noisesingapore.com or call 6344 2953. Priority will be given to active Noise members.

www.noisesingapore.com

Jono Ma has established a sweet reputation as a world class sound designer, experimental film maker and music composer. The prolific Australian talent also found and produced for electro-acoustic outfit ‘Soma for Kinder’, pioneered (locally) a genre referred to as “indie-tronica” and joined the Lost Valentinos as guitarist, keyboard player and programmer. His recent production work includes the latest Vines record.

Jono Ma plays The Butter Factory on Saturday, 21 August.

www.myspace.com/jonoma

David Choi has Youtube to thank for his rise to fame - he’s got the 9th most subscribed channel on our favourite video sharing site and has garnered a kickass 64 million views across all his videos. If that doesn’t impress you, then you might want to know that he’s endorsed by none other then the great David Bowie himself, having won David Bowie’s mash-up contest back in 2004. And oh, he also won a John Lennon songwriting contest and appeared on a magazine with Usher. Have we convinced you to go check out this singer/songwriter/producer yet?

Catch David Choi at TAB, Orchard Hotel, from 17 - 22 Aug (Tue - Sun). His sets start at 11pm except for Sat at 1030pm before SIXX performs. Call 6493 6952 or email reservations@tab.com.sg for more information or to make reservations.