Treading the boards of the theatre, the cobbles of Corrie, his work with Irish Autism Action which led to him being Philanthropist of the Year 2013 – life certainly hasn’t been quiet since the heady heydays of Boyzone, though Keith Duffy’s world certainly turns to A Different Beat (sorry). Between family life, building a successful acting and presenting career and working tirelessly to improve the lives of families affected by autism, Fusion finds Keith indulging in something resembling light relief, as he returns to Limerick to star in the University Concert Hall pantomime Sleeping Beauty, after a well-received stint in Jack and the Beanstalk in 2014. 

Pinning down this busy, internationally renowned, eternally in demand playwright was always going to be a feat. When it became obvious that physical presence was an impossible ask in light of our respective schedules, it was technology to the rescue. With an apologetic grace that we could not meet in person, Mike Finn was more than delighted as we sat down at our own tables with our own cuppas’ for a phone conference update on his hectic schedule.

“I’m standing in a changing room in Topman doing an interview, can you believe that?” is what Little Hours member Ryan McCloskey laughs about.

Since the duo formed Little Hours in March 2014 they’ve been going from strength to strength – from performing live for the very first time at Electric Picnic in 2014, to getting signed to Sony and to supporting huge acts such as Kodaline and James Bay.

From the remains of two successful Irish indie band comes All Tvvins. Conor Adams and Lar Kaye have been popular amongst the Irish music scene since the mid-2000s with their bands The Cast of Cheers and Adebisi Shank. However, with The Cast of Cheers on hiatus and with the recent break up of Adebisi Shank, they decided to form a new pop band called All Tvvins and from the looks of it, it’s one of the best decisions they’ve made in recent years. After forming around two years ago, they’ve played countless gigs and festivals across Europe and their newest single, ‘Darkest Ocean’ has recently made in onto the Fifa 16 soundtrack – and they don’t even have an album out yet. We got to sit down and talk to the band while they were on tour to ask them all about starting over with a new band and upcoming debut album.

Beautiful illustrations where you will lose yourself in fantasy for a moment when you see them, is how I would describe my interaction with the work of talented illustrator Helena Grimes. She is what I could only describe as a lady. A creator of beautiful pieces that I would love to have hanging in my home to look at when I want to escape from the real world. She is an artist through and through. We chat to Helena at the Fusion HQ to get to know about her life, work and inspirations.

Silent Noise Parade have only been together for a few short years but in that time they have played countless gigs and festivals, not to mention one of their newest songs “Fears” has been used in a Scandinavian advertising campaign. A band from Nenagh, they blasted onto the music scene with their upbeat “dark electro, synth pop”. They’ve had an amazing 2015 so far with much more in store. Olivia Chau sat down and chatted with the lads from the band about what lies ahead for them. 

One ordinary day, a devout comic collector took one of his prized comics out of its wrapper. Then, taking a scalpel to it, he was about to change his world forever. CRASH! BAM! KAPOW! Within a flash, Evan Kennedy became the Superhero known as…ARTPASTE!

“Imagining the post human”

Think 1984. Think Blade runner. Think The Matrix. Think Emma Mac.

A highly creative individual with an exceptional mind, as a kid Emma loved sci-fi and was full of imagination. Despite only dabbling in art growing up, it wasn’t until her early twenties she realised that she had to feed her desire to create.

Last December, Shauna Lindsay was named GOSH Girl 2015 and the prize was well earned. Young, smart and driven, this lady has something special about her. A ball of energy bursts into the room when Shauna arrives at the Fusion Studio. She is chilled out and relaxed, her laid-back charm is most intriguing.

Day Job:

I don’t have one day job per se but many bits and pieces here and there. I present and produce my own music show on SPIN South West called ‘The Block’ every Saturday night from 10.45pm. I’m a freelance radio documentary maker, I recently broadcast a jazz documentary on Lyric FM about the ‘Noel Kelehan Quintet’ and am currently working on a documentary on ‘Granny’s Intentions’, a psych/folk group from Limerick, which is due to be broadcast on Lyric Fm in early March 2015. I also do tech op work in Lyric FM at the weekends, I DJ in clubs and pubs and I am a gig promoter, having worked on events such as ‘The Prima Volta’ festival which took place last year as part of ‘City Of Culture’.