The Basement Jaxx will finish the tour behind 2003's Kish Kash by making their first appearance in South Africa. The dance duo will play the D+10 festival -- a series of art, comedy, music and sporting events sponsored by the British High Commission -- celebrating a decade of South African democracy. The Jaxx perform Friday at the Cape Town Convention Center, and the following day at the Johannesburg Gallagher Estate.

When asked why they made the trip, the Jaxx's Simon Ratcliffe says simply, "They're celebrating ten years since the end of Apartheid!"

The crowd expected at D+10 was also a plus. "It'll be a lot more mixed," bandmate Felix Buxton says. "Normally it's the white middle-classes. We were offered DJ gigs there before that we didn't do because going to South Africa to play a big, white rave seemed a bit like carrying on the privilege. It's nice to try to do something positive."

Joining them for the shows will be American-born chanteuse Nomvula Malinga (Vula), whose father hails from South Africa. She recorded a track this summer with the Jaxx that may end up on their next album. "That sounded really good," Buxton says. "It's going somewhere, and it's different."

As with their 2001 album Rooty -- named for a club night the duo started in London -- the Jaxx won't hibernate in the studio for long, but road-test the new material before they release it.

"The most important thing for us at the moment is to get some songs finished and on vinyl," Ratcliffe says, "and go out and play."