He’s one of the UK’s coolest musicians, with his mix of classic 60s influences with a cinematic twist.  The guy also knows how to wear an outfit! With the release of his new album ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ 2013 is his for the taking.

Tell us about the new album ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ it sounds like it’s a bit of a stomper?
Yeah it’s a stomper, very direct, whatever I’m talking about whether it’s positive or about love or being angry I’ve really let go with the lyrics, there’s no hiding behind mystical meanings or anything like that. It’s the kind of songwriting where you just have to let it all out. I think it’s the most honest thing I’ve ever done. I like being direct like that, although I’m not the kind of person who posts about what they’ve been eating on twitter!

You’re a stylish man, how important is style to Miles Kane?
It’s very important, it goes hand-in-hand with the music. I don’t really think about it, I just love clothes. I like feeling smart and looking sharp! Like when you put something on and it gives you a boost, then you feel great for the rest of the day.

Who are your style icons?
The Beatles, Oasis, French singer Jaques Dutronc, he was a very good looking fella! I did a cover of one of his songs recently, he was kind of like a mod Serge Gainsbourg. I also like Lee Hazelwood with his turtle necks, not so much the moustache, that’s not really me.

You’ve got a big tour coming up with loads of festival dates, what are you most looking forward to?
We just can’t wait to play the new songs, it’s going to be very epic live, very pounding and high energy.

Do you ever feel apprehensive about debuting new material live?
Obviously you get a little bit of nerves about playing new material to the crowd but we feel very passionate about the new songs so we can’t wait to play them.

What first got you into music and made you as passionate as you are?
I think it was my mom playing The Beatles, David Bowie, Motown.. it was kind of always there in the background. Then when I was at school I got into Oasis, I remember watching a live video “There And Then”, it kind of blew my mind. It seemed like another world, a mystical world, how could I get on that stage? Even watching local bands, it seemed impossible for me to do that and it has taken me a while to get there but I’ve worked for it and now it feels solid. I’m glad that I’ve worked for it.

You’re a pretty cool cat, what are your guilty pleasure songs that your fans might not imagine you being into?
I love “Stayin’ Alive” by The Bee Gees and “Young Hearts Run Free” by Candi Staton.

Is there anything a bit darker/more embarrassing that you’d be less likely to admit?
2Unlimited ‘No Limit’, I remember that from when I was a kid.

Are there any current bands that you really rate at the moment?
We toured with Peace who are a great band, really nice lads and I love their record. Love that song ‘California Daze’. I also really like The Unknown Mortal Orchestra, they’ve got a couple of really good tunes I love and The Strypes are a great band.

What about any unsung heroes?
I suppose Lee Hazelwood. I love the stuff he did with Nancy Sinatra. Lana Del Ray did a really great cover of a song they did together ‘Summer Wine’.

You’re a Liverpool FC fan, what did you think of the Suarez incident and the 20 month ban?
He’s a crazy m*therf*cker but people buzz off him for it. He’s always on the edge of his fuse and that’s why people like him.

Maryam Snape 

Catch Miles Kane on tour with support from Findlay

01/06 – Academy 2 – Birmingham
02/06 – Ruby Lounge - Manchester
07/06 – Dingwalls – London
10/06 – Roamneder – Northampton
11/06 – Corn Exchange – Bedford

Team Fused is working on an exciting project over the summer for the new Library of Birmingham. With our partners Capsule and Birmingham 2022, alongside Ideas Tap and mac, we’ve put together an editorial team and now we are looking for a designer to jump on board and get involved…

JOB DETAILS

We’re looking for an experienced and talented all-round graphics whizz to work on a magazine layout project with up to 15 young people over the summer of 2013.

You’ll be working with a team of facilitators on an intensive project to produce the official brochure of the ‘Discovery Season’ for the opening of Birmingham’s new Library based around the designed Discovery Season logo.

During a 2 week summer school (based in Birmingham city centre) an editorial team will produce text, images and artwork. We’re looking for an individual to work closely with the group (during the second week) to help turn their vision of the brochure in to reality with a highly professional finished product.

Download the Job Description and details on how to apply here: GD_JobDescription.

We’ve seen a few peeks of sunshine over the past few days and it is making us want to change out of the dull Winter wardrobe and it to something a little more, dare we say, Spring like? Cue MQT whose refreshingly colourful chino collection and “summer sartorialism” is the ideal choice.

The label has a solid background in denim manufacturing in which they have founded their own men’s label.

Revealing a landmark moment in their development, MQT showcase the ‘life of denim’, by developing a ‘wash palette’ from fresh to formidable.  Along with a broad colour palette of soft summer shades and pastels chinos, the SS13 collection features an arsenal of unique denim styles.  With new shapes including low rise, relaxed tailoring, twisted, skinny, and more, all chinos are engineered with a timeless appeal and a vintage aesthetic.

Stockists include Selfridges, Flannels and ASOS.

2013 marks a momentous year for renowned clubbing giant Gatecrasher. The world-famous club brand is to celebrate twenty years at the forefront of dance music culture with an awe-inspiring series of global events and releases. A true celebration of Gatecrasher past, present, and future!

Kicking off the 20/20 celebrations, Gatecrasher has announced a 10,000 capacity warehouse party that will be taking place at Castle Donington on the 5th of May. The event features a line-up of epic proportions, which includes thrilling Pendulum DJ duo KNIFE PARTY, chart topping Dutch house star NICKY ROMERO, electro-house producer, globetrotting DJ and Dim Mak label boss STEVE AOKI, heavyweight house master LAIDBACK LUKE, and Gatecrasher favourite EDDIE HALLIWELL.

COMPETITION

We have 5 x pairs of tickets to give away.  All you need to do is tell us the name of Steve Aoki’s record label.

Email your answer along with your name, address and date of birth to competitions [@] fusedmagazine.com.

Deadline for entry is 30th April, 2013 at 12noon. Winners will be notified via email.

For more info please visit: www.gatecrasher.com

INN focuses on the creative aspect of a city, showcasing leading art, architecture, film, fashion, food, drink, music, stories, and other aspects of culture which make that city unique. They recently invited street artist Inkie to Istanbul to check out the scene and add some of his own work to the walls.

Over 4 days from 12th-15th April, visitors in London will have the chance to see some of Istanbul’s leading design, art galleries, and fashion designers.

Visitors to the show will also have the chance to sample a specially designed menu of Luxury Street Food and pastries devised by leading chef Silvena Rowe, sample traditional Turkish Coffee and a chance to learn about the authentic way to drink Turkish Raki.

The event will run from 11am until 7pm each day. Tickets are now available for free courtesy of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office in London via eventbrite http://www.innlondon.org/event/.

Since forming ‘out of boredom’ back in 2010, Peace have had people talking. The Birmingham quartet have generated no small amount of hype, being hailed as ‘the future of indie music’ by the Guardian and named NME’s ‘One’s To Watch’. Their ‘dark melodic indie techno’ bagged them a Sound of 2013 nomination and their forward thinking musical mentality has seen them tipped from all sides.

Having already supported The Vaccines, Mystery Jets and Tame Impala, Peace also took the coveted opening slot on the annual NME Awards tour, performing with the likes of Django Django and Miles Kane. Peace are now set to embark on their biggest headline tour to date to coincide with the release of their much anticipated debut album, In Love, a breezy, psychedelic and eclectic mix of indie tracks, which will no doubt be receiving many plays this summer. After blowing everyone away at SXSW, we caught up with a jetlagged Harry (singer) to discuss the album and the tour, amongst other things.

Hi Harry, how’re you doing?
Yeah I’m good. Just re-adjusting to the English time zone. We’ve been in Texas for South By Southwest.

How was that?
Goooooooooood. Very good, but now I’m a bit laggy, bit groggy. I’ve lost my voice a little bit.

‘In Love’, your debut album is out on 25th March. How was recording that for you? Tell us a little bit about the album.
It was a breeze. Yeah it was a good time recording that. We did the EP in like 9 days maybe, but we had more time with the album so it let us get more obsessive about tiny things and waste more time, like going over things we didn’t use…but it was all a laugh. We had a lot of time to experiment.

Do you feel you’ve experimented a lot on the album?
Yeah, on stuff that’s barely noticeable, but it all matters to us. There’s a lot of sounds which took a lot of time and a lot of sounds in there which are barely noticeable, but hopefully people will pick up on it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, you’ve generated a lot of hype from very early on, The Guardian even hailed you ‘the future of indie music.’ Did you feel a lot of pressure when making the album based on this?
Nah… we were out in the countryside, which was like, a rare change. So we were in the glorious country and we were staying in the studio which was this lovely chapel, so we kind of forgot about everything. We just made what we wanted to. It was very good.  It was a good plan. I don’t know who’s idea that was.

As with all new bands, people have made a lot of comparisons. So you’ve been likened to Wu Lyf, Vampire Weekend and even Radiohead. How do you feel about those comparisons?
I don’t think we sound like any of those, but, you know, they’re all good bands. I think those comparisons were made pretty early on when we were just experimenting and playing live was the only form that we could do it in.

Do those comparisons match up with your influences at all?
Um, not really. Maybe Vampire Weekend were into bands like Talking Heads. I don’t know much of their [Vampire Weekend] stuff but then Radiohead are good to be fair. I guess in the industry today it’s best not to aspire to be like bands past because I think the industry is very different nowadays. There’s lots of classic bands that I look up to.

Tickets are on sale for your tour, are you excited for that after coming off the NME Tour?
Yeah, it’s going to be really good to get out and do a headline tour. Really good. I’m excited and we did that for years before so we’re prepared.

Is being on the stage where you’d rather be? Are you happier live than in the studio?
Um, not necessarily ’cause a studio it’s completely different. We’ve built everything we have from playing live, so it just feels natural to us. So it’s very easy for us to go on a really long tour and not worry about it and just get on with it.

You and your brother Sam (who plays bass) are both in the band. Is there an interesting dynamic there between brothers?
Everything comes naturally to us. We’re on the same level. Its not weird or anything, it’s just quite natural.

So there’s no family squabbling there? No Gallagher-esque nonsense? 

No, no squabbling. Not yet. I mean…it’s early days.

Inspired by that, I thought I’d let my little brother work with me and write a few questions. He’s asking the big questions, such as, what’s the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you as a group?
As a group? Um…I’m trying to think of the most embarrassing thing…. In Austin Doug (Castle, guitar) smashed a glass table in the Four Seasons Hotel..and that was embarrassing. He now says that it was an accident, but at the time I was very convinced it wasn’t.

You could probably pass it off as rock’n'roll….
Yeah it’s not really that embarrassing. At the time I remember being like ‘Oh no!’ but I’m sure its easier to just be like ‘Yeah, whatever.’

My brother’s also asked me ‘Can anyone do any good impressions?’
(Laughs) I can do one but I’m not going to say because it’s of a band that I actually love and they might see this, so I’m not going to say that, but Dom does a great… I dunno if that’s a bit taboo actually, but he does a great Jimmy Saville impression.

And finally he’s asked ‘Who’s got the weirdest habits?’
Um…either…. I want to say Dom because he seems to have a lot of habits, but I dunno if they’re that weird. But then like Doug maybe…the way that Doug operates, like, everything he does is really confusing. He doesn’t work like a normal human. He doesn’t have many habits but everything he does is unusual. He’s just like an animal. He just doesn’t function in a normal way.

In Love is out now, and tickets are available for the tour dates listed below:

April:
12th – MANCHESTER – Club Academy
13th – YORK – Duchess
14th – NEWCASTLE – Cluny
16th – GLASGOW – The Arches
17th – EDINBURGH – Electric Circus
18th – PRESTON – 53 Degrees
19th – SHEFFIELD – Leadmill
21st – GLOUCESTER – Guildhall
22nd – BRISTOL- Fleece
23rd – PORTSMOUTH – Wedgewood Rooms
24th – BRIGHTON – Concorde2
25th – READING – Sub89
26th – OXFORD – Academy 2
27th – BIRMINGHAM – Academy 2
30th – LONDON – Birthdays

May:
1st – LONDON – Birthdays
2nd – LONDON – Birthdays
3rd – LONDON – Birthdays
4th – LEEDS – Live At Leeds

Words: Dave Heslop

Bristol’s Upfest returns in May with hundreds of street artists taking part in the annual free bank holiday event. World class painters and illustrators will get to work painting 20,000sqft of surfaces including a NY subway train, beer gardens, car parks and skate parks. Alongside the art music stages, pop up cafes and street parties will take place from Saturday 25th to Monday 27th May.

A selection of the biggest names in international graffiti culture will be taking to the streets, including Faith47 (South Africa), DALeast (China), C215 (France), Peeta (Italy) as well as Bristol natives Turroe and Inkie.

Upfest will be based at the Tobacco Factory and throughout North Street, Southville, Bristol throughout the May Bank Holiday weekend between the hours of 11am-9pm.

For more information on events and locations visit www.upfest.co.uk and follow the festival on Twitter @upfest #upfest2013

In celebration of 2013’s Record Store Day (Saturday 20 April), Moby and Mark Lanegan have collaborated on an exclusive track to be released as a limited edition 7” called The Lonely Night. 

“I’ve been a fan of Mark’s from his early SST Records days and i’ve always wanted to work with him. He has one of the best and most distinctive voices of the last 25 years. now that we live near each other it ended up being really easy working on a song together.” MOBY

The Lonely Night 7” comes backed with a remix from electronic music legend Photek and is being released on Moby’s own label Little Idiot.

You can see a list of the releases for this year’s event over at the Record Store Day website here.

On the 23 March The V&A will open it’s David Bowie Is exhibition; the first international retrospective of the extraordinary career of David Bowie. Featuring more than 300 objects that include handwritten lyrics, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs and Bowie’s own instruments The V&A were given unprecedented access to Bowie’s archive.

As part of the exhibition photographer Brian Duffy’s striking images will be on display. Between 1972 and 1979, Duffy worked closely with David Bowie, shooting him in five incarnations for Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Thin White Duke, Scary Monsters and the Lodger, and helping to create some of the most iconic images in music history.

After a successful career shooting images for Vogue and helping to create a hugely influential documentary style of fashion photography, in 1979 Duffy had a break down, burnt many of his images and never took another photograph.

It wasn’t until almost 30 years later, when his son Chris discovered a number of boxes of his father’s negatives, that Duffy was restored to his rightful place in the pantheon of photographic greats. His work has stood the test of time and the shots that defined an era look as fresh and arresting today as they ever did.

The original Aladdin Sane Dye Transfer print will be on show as part of the V&A’s exhibition. Vintage Seekers will be selling an exclusive limited edition book of Duffy’s photographs that includes two prints – the famous Aladdin Sane cover shot and a second, rare outtake of Bowie in the same pose with his eyes closed for £250.

While we’ve always wanted to own an original Warhol we know it is a little out of our price-range but New York based dealer Hedges Project has brought the opportunity a little closer. Unique Polaroid images from Warhol are available at “more accessible prices” with the world’s largest private collection of his photographs up for sale.

The entirety of Andy Warhol’s photographic artistic output from the mid-1960′s until the time of his death in 1987 include polaroids, photo booth strips from times square in the 1960′s, stitched photo collages, and unique 8×10 silver gelatin prints.

Andy Warhol used his cameras unlike any artist before him, and possibly ever since.  Often called “his date,” Andy’s camera was with him at all times: late nights at Studio 54, art gallery openings, travels to Aspen, LA, Europe, China, weekends at his Montauk beach estate and, mostimportantly, in his studio, “The Factory,” where he relied on the camera like other artists use a pencil, a paintbrush, or a sketchpad, but ever diaristic.

Warhol used either his Polaroid or Minolta 35 mm camera to document the worlds he moved in:  sports stars like Pele or Kareem Abdul-Jabarr, fashion designers like Halston or Diane von Furstenberg, film and tv stars like Liza Minelli and Farrah Fawcett, rock ‘n rollers like Mick Jagger or Debbie Harry, artists like Francesco Clemente or Man Ray, politicians like the Kennedys or Regans and the very rich all populated Warhol’s universe.

The prices for Polaroids range from $10,000 -$50,000 and are available from this site.

There’s a new movement stirring within the music scene in Birmingham and at the forefront is Swim Deep: a band formed through chance encounters and youthful pipe dreams who are blazing a trail for the city’s scene.

“It started when Higgy and Austin were both working at Morrison’s,” Cavan, Swim Deep’s bassist, told us, “They just sort of decided that instead of talking about music they’d have a go at making some of their own. Then they met Zach on a night out and they had a go at being a three-piece for a while. Then on another night out they met me and it all just took off from there.”

Named after a song written by Austin and Higgy’s first band, Swim Deep has an entirely organic origin story, rarely heard of in today’s Simon Cowell produced world where nothing is left to chance. Swim Deep are freshly unpretentious and unassuming, qualities that give them a unique charm and sound, “We don’t really draw influence from other bands, I mean obviously we all listen to other artists and stuff, but we’re just doing our own thing really.”

While it might seem daunting trying to break into the industry that is so dominated by the London crowd, the appalling named ‘B-Town’ movement has helped Swim Deep get their names on the musical map.

“I think it has been pretty beneficial coming from Birmingham, just because there are a few of us around at the minute trying to make it, like Peace. We all kind of helped each other I think, and it drew attention to the bands in Birmingham.”

And it looks like Swim Deep are showing no signs of slowing down. Having spent a week in Brussels recording their album with producer Charlie Hugall, the man who lent his magic touch to single ‘Honey’, the band also supported Two Door Cinema Club at the 02 in Birmingham, and have been invited to join indie favourites Spector on their UK tour.

Current singles Honey and King City are already available for download, and next single The Sea was released 11th March. Swim Deep’s lyrics are simple, but also hold a maturity that comes from years of dedication to their craft. The videos also reflect a degree of minimalism; Swim Deep aren’t trying too hard to impress, and the results are insightful and thought-provoking, but also reflective of their youth. The videos play heavily on their roots, and cast Birmingham in a different light. One track that encapsulates what Swim Deep are all about is ‘Orange County’: the B-side to Honey, complete with a DIY video. “Yeah, we were just in this room in a Travelodge on tour. We were bored and we had the photographer there, so we just did it.”

Their sound is upbeat, sunny, and original, a combination rarely heard these days, and their achievements so far reflect just how ready the UK is for something different. 2013 looks set to be a bright year for Swim Deep. “Yeah, recording the album in Brussels was really cool, and I think we’re hoping it’ll be out around May. We just have to wait and see what happens.”

Words: Susannah Dickey

It’s a brave brand that lets Jeremy Scott have, what would appear to be, carte blanche to design an entire range but adidas has a long-standing relationship with the outrageous designer whose iconic styles have been past sell-outs.

Popular with a stella list of celebs, pop and rap stars and a favourite to the likes of model Agyness Deyn and even style-icon Miss Piggy, Scott’s designs have won him many plaudits.

His SS13 collection for adidas is as outlandish and fun as ever offering a playful take on the hi-top. The wings are back alongside fluffy animals (pink poodles and crocodiles) and, tartan, leopard and billiard ball prints.

It’s a wild collection but one thing is for sure – you could never call it dull!

The collection is available direct from adidas.

For a musician who has previously traded on his overt flamboyance, it may seem a bit risky for Patrick Wolf to strip it back for a wholly acoustic set. However, anyone who has followed the multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter since his debut album ‘Lycanthropy’ in 2003 will know that Wolf doesn’t need the electronic elements that have helped shaped his discography; in a live setting, the talented troubadour proves he’s the real deal by stripping it back and showcasing his voice, his poetry and his musical talent completely free of beats.

Opening torch song ‘London’ sets the tone in front of a Saturday night audience allocated seats. It may not be party time but there is atmosphere in the intimacy as Wolf represents highlights from his five albums in a fresh way, switching from piano and four-string instruments whilst aided by four band members on violin, cello, accordion and oboe/woodwind respectively.  Although his work has always been critically praised, albeit ignored by the record-buying public, here in its barebones form it is surprising just how effective it, and Wolf as an artisan, is.

The show is in support of recent career overview ‘Sundark and Riverlight’, which presents sixteen of Wolf’s songs as an acoustic retrospective. However, other fans faves are also given a showing in the live spotlight, making the sparse but dedicated crowd an attentive and happy bunch as Wolf and his band effortlessly do each song justice. Highlights abound: Wolf amping up the drama as a frontman to the unhinged gypsy-folk of ‘The Libertine’, delivering romanticism free of irony during the blissful ‘House’ and ‘Together’, and enticing tears with a dedication to a lost friend on ‘The Sun is Often Out’, his voice soaring and aided only by accordion.

It’s easy for gigs like this to be stuffy and, considering the stripped-back element, weirdly pompous. Thankfully though, Wolf is a charming presence; although he can go to intense places in his songs and go all-out with a big vocal, Wolf understands that his music has reached a certain sector of music fans and communicates with them readily and easily between songs. Whether it’s introducing ‘Overture’ as a dedication to his younger bullied self or querying how far audience members have travelled or what’s worth doing in Wolverhampton (he is a Wolf after all), he makes the two-hour set as engrossing for part-time fans as the in-house devotees.

As the gig nears completion, songs usually reserved for encores come thick and fast: celebratory ‘The City’ comes complete with Wolves-based ad libs, while an anthemic double bill of ‘Bermondsey Street’ and ‘The Falcons’ are boosted by the week’s politics, Wolf’s all-encompassing love songs reaching sky-high in the wake of legalisation of gay marriage. Of course, ‘The Magic Position’ is a crowd-pleasing gem as always, and an encore of ‘Wolf Song’ (what else?) is rendered especially special with flourishes of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Circle Game’. All in all? Wow. A Wolf to hunt down and catch next time he’s in town.

Luke McNaney

Breton stripes are currently adorning the Dutch port city of Rotterdam. From trees, concrete posts, flag poles, the towering 185m Euromast, and even a train running from Paris to Holland, the signature Blue & White stripes are there to tell its residents, and visitors, that Jean Paul Gaultier is well and truly in the house; or art venue the Kunsthal to be exact.

Launching over the weekend ‘The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk’ saw international press, bloggers and fashionistas invade the city to see what the man himself had to say of the installation.

Looking back at 40 years in the fashion industry the message was clear from curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot “…don’t call this a retrospective.” JPG was adamant to stress his works should be displayed within a “contemporary installation rather than an exhibition.” An open-minded vision of his art with strong social messages or race, ethnicity and equality are key to his work which was brought alive in an array of imaginative ways.

“I wanted it to be a very lively exhibition” commented a warm and relaxed Gaultier: “Showing fashion living and not a historical thing. There is life in it.”

Offering a world of JPG you would never gain access to the pieces included are from the screen and the stage – some of which have taken over 1,000 hours to create; true pieces of art.

What is amazing is that over four decades many of the pieces are timeless; transcending trends but then Gaultier could never be accused of being a mere follower of fashion. The couturier is after all a pioneer.

“It’s a privilege to do what you dream.” Jean Paul Gaultier.

The exhibition is a beautifully executed theatrical performance. Entering the space an array of brilliantly animated mannequins, whose faces come alive with clever audiovisual projections, engage with their audience. The individual faces subtly move with some of them speaking or singing. It’s a spooky experience – some looking very life like. Even JPG himself if represented looking jolly and having fun.

Around the corner a padded luxury boudoir hosts amazing corsets with the signature cone bra while a revolving catwalk shows off a selection of dresses.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Featuring over 140 original creations from the early 70’s to present day from the haute couture collections to ready-to-wear lines there are also interviews, videos and a reference to the designer’s perhaps ill-thought out music career – showing he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He was a presenter on Eurotrash afterall.

This was the fifth venue for the exhibition which has already been shown to over 700,000 visitors so far (past cities included Montreal, Dallas, San Francisco, Madrid) and will be on its way to Stockholm and New York later in the year. However unique to the Holland showcase was the introduction of a Red Light District installation, added sailors (thanks to the port) and a graffiti wall used as a back drop to his Punk CanCan collection produced by local all-girl street art collective ‘Onskruid’.

The installation is stylish and totally in-keeping with the aesthetic of what you’d expect of Gaultier.  A must-see for any fashion fan.

For more information on the exhibition at Kunsthal Rotterdam visit www.kunsthal.nl/

The exhibition runs until the 12th May, 2013.

Playing the son of an icon is not easy – a lot rests on your shoulders. But it’s a peach of a part and 20th Century Fox had their pick of young actors looking to play Jack, son of New York’s most famous cop, John McClane.

Jai Courtney beat the lot. Having attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, the 26-year-old made his international breakthrough in the TV series Spartacus: Blood And Sand, before starring opposite Tom Cruise in the thriller Jack Reacher.

But his biggest challenge – in terms of audience expectations – is surely Die Hard, the action franchise that made Bruce Willis a star and has defined two decades of blowing stuff up on screen.

Courtney talks about bagging the part, working with Willis and how McClane Jr is “a chip off the old block”…

What was your reaction when you first heard about A Good Day To Die Hard?
I was pretty excited, to be honest. It was kind of a long process, getting cast. They’d been looking at some guys for a while and they’d done a round of tests and decided to go back to the drawing board. It coincided with when I’d just finished up on Jack Reacher. I was coming back through LA and my reps tried to set an audition for the role of Jack McClane, because they hadn’t found the guy. I was leaving on a plane that night, back to Australia, and I ended up having to get off the plane in order to go and test with Bruce a couple of days later. Then it was a bit of a process. It wasn’t instantaneous, it was probably about a month after that audition – I waited, went home, started another job. We’d be trading phone calls and getting updates and this and that and it came down to the point where I’d imagined it happening so many times – and then got used to the idea perhaps it wouldn’t – that when it finally came through I was just relieved. And very excited – it’s obviously a really iconic franchise and I was just thrilled. I couldn’t wait to get out there and get to work.

Is the casting process weird, because you want to commit to give it your best shot, but part of you is scared of believing it’s going to happen?
I try not to worry too much. As an actor you deal with these possibilities all the time and it is a bit of an art to try and stay in a healthy place where you can anticipate something and believe it is going to go down just the way you want it to… and then get used to the disappointment when it doesn’t work out. That’s probably a tool I’ve just had to sharpen over the last few years and get used to. I like to think that I manage quite well when it comes to shaking something off that doesn’t happen. With something like this, by that point they were so close to production that by the time I was finally cast it was absolutely a reality. Yeah, there are initial concerns about what your job is and how you fit into the whole piece and are you going to disappoint fans. With these big, iconic franchises, people have expectations and they want films to be made a certain way to please them. There are moments when you wonder about it, but it’s not exactly healthy to spend too much time focused on it. I just went out there and tried to work hard and have fun and embrace the experience. And I think the results are there. I had the pleasure of seeing the film the other day and it’s in really good shape – it’s a lot of fun and I don’t think it’s going to disappoint, that’s for sure.

How was it meeting Bruce Willis for the first time?

It was great meeting him the first time. It was at that test I did in Los Angeles. Yeah, there’s those initial thought of “This is Bruce Willis!” You just try to be respectful. And you just run on instinct at that point and remain professional. It would probably have been a disaster had I totally got wound up and been star-struck and worrying too much about what he was thinking about me, etc, and how to try and impress this guy. It wasn’t about that. And fortunately the environment was set up as such that we were just able to get there and have fun. We were playing a few scenes from the film and I’d read the script at that point and it was just about relying on your instincts and what you know as to how to approach a scene as an actor. We had a ball. He’s lovely guy – he’s a funny guy. And I’d just come from working with Tom Cruise and I think that probably aided my ability to let go a little bit and just kind of acknowledge that we’re both actors and both professionals and here to do a job.

Do you remember which was the first Die Hard you saw?
I think the first one I actually saw was three: Die Hard With A Vengeance. That probably goes down as one of my favorites. I think one and three are probably my favorites. That was when I was a kid and it’s one of those series of films that you just catch – it’s the sort of thing that comes on the TV and you don’t switch it off, because it’s, you know, Die Hard!
I’d seen them all growing up and then certainly, as part of my preparation, I wanted to go back and watch them all again: just kind of reaffirm to myself what it was I was getting into and also for the sheer pleasure. They’re just good, fun action films and it’s important to remember that’s what you’re making.

When you’re playing someone’s son – particularly someone as well-known as Bruce Willis – are you looking to echo certain mannerisms and things like that?
That was something I certainly thought about as part of my preparation, but I concluded that to get too worried about that would be a bit of a road block for me and I just kind of trusted the fact that the relationship we were creating within the story would be enough to support that. But then I noticed while shooting that sort of thing happened organically and it wasn’t necessarily something I was actively trying to do. There are definite things that have rubbed off on me. It’s somewhat comical watching some of the material back and seeing that transpire without it being something you were necessarily aware of at the time.

It must be a big thrill to find yourself in a Die Hard movie, but with this following Jack Reacher, people are going to want to label you as an action star and you’ve done Chekhov, Three Sisters, on stage before, haven’t you?
Yes, we did that with a theatre company in Sydney. I certainly don’t want to box myself into any particular genre. I think there’s always going to be strengths that you have to play to and things that will offer you maybe more opportunities than others. You deal with that from a grass roots level: I’ve always been a bigger guy and you come out of acting school and you’re going for commercials or TV and you know you’re not the guy that’s going to book the job for the lawyer or the scientist! I guess I learned early on, even on a show like Spartacus, that those sort of things are going to opportunities and it’s easier for people to see you in certain roles than others. But I really want to enjoy doing this for as long as I possibly can and for me that also means ticking lots of different boxes and exploring different characters and genres. Hopefully these couple of films that are more action-heavy will offer me the opportunity to do that and take on other stuff that interests me, not just gun-wielding types.

When you were starting out was there a distinct moment when you remember thinking, ‘I want to be an actor’?
For me taking the step into taking it seriously came from almost a lack of inspiration elsewhere! I started some work after high school in a job that I just hated and that’s sort of when it became clear that I needed to get some priorities, really. At that point all that was important to me was hanging out with my mates and playing footy and that was about as far ahead as I thought: the weekend. That was really it. So after a few months of that job, it dawned on me that I was getting pretty unhappy. And I’d always been involved in drama and acting through school and I wasn’t flexing that muscle any more or exercising it in any way and I just had this desire to chase that. I think a lot of guys in this business knew from a really young age and for me it was more of an interest than a passion, until I went and trained. It was at drama school that I really embraced it fully. When I first got there, I thought I’d made a terrible mistake and I just wasn’t cut out for it, but I started to realize that there was a place for me in this world. I was always pretty serious about having a really decent crack at it and trying to be successful as well. That was no joke as far as I was concerned. So it was when I studied that I really started to love it and was being exposed to the classics, doing Shakespeare and Chekhov and learning about crazy movement techniques and things that I wasn’t even aware of at all. I just had such a great time doing it that I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do. It’s been a funny old journey, it’s a crazy business, and it’s been a rocky road at times. I’m, in a lot of ways, just playing it by ear and trying to have as much fun while I do it.

Moving forward with this series, there’s been talk of the passing of the torch from Bruce to you. Is that something you can see happening: becoming the face of Die Hard?
I’ve had some thoughts on this and that is an idea that has been tossed around. I remember when I originally heard about them casting this role, that was kind of the pitch: “It’s the son, it’s the next generation, they’ll pass it on”. I’ve heard these things thrown around before with other franchises. Where I stand on it is kind of neutral, really. If that were to happen then of course I would be up for it, but at this point there’s nothing to sort of substantiate that. It’s a rumor as far as I’m concerned and I’ve maintained that I can’t imagine doing a Die Hard film without Bruce. I think he really is this franchise and without him it wouldn’t have been as successful as it has been. As far as handing on the torch, who knows? We’ll see. Anything is possible. Would I love to do another Die Hard film? Absolutely. In what capacity? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

To celebrate the release of  ’A Good Day To Die’ we have gotten our hands on some exclusive super-cool merchandise.

To get your hands on this great prize set  (pictured) Just answer this: A Good Day To Die Hard opens in cinemas across the UK on 14th February. What annual occasion also happens on this day?

Send the answer to competitions [@] fusedmagazine.com before 21/2/1013 and one luck winners name will be pulled out of our action hero vest. Yippee Ki-Yay!

080 Barcelona Fashion Week was held on the 28 – 31th of January, celebrated in the new headquarters of Disseny Hub Barcelona in Glorias square, where a variety of talented and renowned fashion Designers (Braim & Beast pictured above) exhibited their seasons collections.
 This seasons edition featured the work of artist such as, Martinez Lierah, Alexis Reina, Josep Abril, Manuel Bolaño and many other known as well as emerging Designers. Miriam Ponsa being this season’s winner.

Josep Abril

Manuel Bolao

Who

Designers: Alexis Reyna, Braim&Beast, Celia Vela, Josep Abril, Juan Pedro Lopez, Justicia Ruano, Katarina Grey, Manuel Bolaño, Martinez Lierah, Miriam Ponsa, Schipper/Arques, Sur, Who, Zazo & Brull
Brands: Mango, TCN.
Technical Team
Producers: Di-form
DOP: Daniel Arguello
Photography assistant: Magdalena Urban
Still photography: Valentina Vencislavova
Edith and Post-production: Alfonso Alonso

Music
Song “So many details” from the albun Anything in return by Toro y Moi. 2013 Carpark.
Please support the artist here: iTunes

This week sees the launch of the 13th Art Rotterdam with this year seeing more than 90 well-known and upcoming galleries showcase their latest developments in contemporary art.  2013 sees the fair expand to include video art and film for the first time.

Alongside Art Rotterdam gallery The Kunsthal will be hosting a retrospective of the work and creations of renowned designer Jean Paul Gaultier. ‘The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk’ (pictured above) looks at how the designer has helped shaped fashion over a 35 year career.

‘The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier’ is more of a contemporary installation than a retrospective. Over a hundred and forty original creations from the early 1970s to the present day, and from both his haute couture collections and his ready-to-wear lines, can be seen at the Kunsthal. Most of these pieces are being exhibited for the first time in the Netherlands, with exceptional loans from Madonna and Pedro Almodovar to name a few.

ART ROTTERDAM
Cruise Terminal and Las Palmas, the Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam
Thursday 7 – Sunday 10 February 2013
Opening hours: Thu 7 Feb 12.00 – 18.00 hrs., Fri 8 Feb 12.00 – 21.00 hrs.,
Sat 9 & Sun 10 Feb 11.00 – 19.00 hrs. www.artrotterdam.com

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk
Museumpark, Westzeedijk 341, 3015 AA Rotterdam
10 Feb – 12 May 2013
Opening hours: Tuesday till Saturday: 10am-5pm, Sunday: 11am-5pm, Closed on Mondays

Hannah & Suki (or Bundy & Webster) lovingly put their care and attention in to their tee-shirt ranges and with 10 artist’s designs to choose it is easy to be spoiled for choice. They’ve added some new designs this week and our faves are this lovely Zebra tee  by German graphic designer Xenia Baumann (£34) and the skull sweatshirt below (£45) by French artist Jean Feline. Buy online at www.bundyandwebster.com.

Art Seasons Gallery, Singapore present PHUNK’s solo exhibition “EMPIRE OF DREAMS” until Feb 16th 2013.

“EMPIRE OF DREAMS” is PHUNK’s celebration of “Dreams”. It is inspired by the epic stories of the “Dreamers”.  They see things differently. They are not fond of rules. They do not conform. They invent. They imagine. They love. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the boundaries. They move us forward. They change the world, building it around the grandest, wildest of dreams.

Making great works and pushing creative boundaries is an ethos that has stayed true to the PHUNK collective. Their work includes typographic art, graphic design, animation, visual iconography and digital vector illustrations that have informed and culminated into their new artistic vision and fine art making techniques.

ART SEASONS Singapore
1 Selegie Road, PoMo, Singapore 188306
Gallery hours: Mondays to Saturdays 11am – 7pm, Closed on Sundays and public holidays.