ABOUT
:Christchurch born, Liam Ryan made his name as keyboardist and songwriter with Kiwi band The Narcs in the 1980s - (You Took Me) Heart and Soul, Diamonds On China.. He has featured as a session player on many New Zealand recordings and has toured as a sideman with international artists including Charlie Musselwhite, Long John Baldry and Robben Ford and is a long-standing collaborator with many international musicians working remotely from his Anam Cara studio in Waihi New Zealand.
New single Silva & Ryan- with Evan Silva: SUNDANCER - drops April 20th, 2026! Pop-soul fusion. Getting nice airplay in Australia.
Check it out here:
Liam delivered his 2026 AIR SCULPTURES Songwriting Workshops over summer in his hometown, Waihi, NZ. Write on!
November 2025 saw the release of his PASTICHE EP project on all digital platforms - a writing collaboration with Evan Silva. The project includes two instrumental tone poems - orchestral based: Blue Threondy and Efflurage plus two songs with orchestrations: Just Us Two and It's Gettin' Late.
PASTICHE and alll of Liam's releases are available for purchase on Bandcamp:
Click on https://liamryan1.bandcamp.com/ - and dive in!
Liam has released a trilogy of electro jazz solo albums on his Torch Music label: : Mississippi To Mauao (2007), Pacific Riviera (2010) and Woven Not Stranded (2021). He has won RIANZ Music Awards with The Narcs ( 1984) and a TUI for The Present (2002) - a collaboration involving 200 Waikato student writers, artists and musicians.
He currently performs with The Midge Marsden Band, The Flaming Mudcats, The Action , Spicer & Ryan, The Raglan Mudsharks plus numerous jazz line-ups including Lucky Strike and The Blue Riders. He recently composed and produced commissioned works for the Rodger Fox Hone Tuwhare Project and the Creative Waikato Creative Acts of Kindness Project.
After 35 years Liam stopped touring with The Narcs in 2022 to pursue other musical projects closer to home. He produced two collections of groove based pieces with Sarah Spicer -"The Affirmations"- in 2023..In 2024 he helped produce albums for The Flaming Mudcats ('Black Limousine) and Noel Couttes and is in demand as a collaborator, arranger and composer.
Since 2002 Liam has been involved with the National Jazz Festival Tauranga as a Director, Artistic Director and since 2015 as Manager of the NZ National Youth Jazz Competition. In August 2017 he was awarded Life Membership of the Tauranga Jazz Society.
Liam has had a long and successful career as an academic researcher in the field of arts education. He is a former member of the New Zealand Music Commission and currently sits on the SAE NZ Academic Board. His Masters Degree researched The Rise of Rhythm and Blues in Christchurch 1960 -1970. He is a former columnist and reviewer for Fairfax Media and currently writes occasionaly for various magazines about music and culture.
About the WOVEN NOT STRANDED 2023 Album Project :
Digital digital tracks available for download at
https://liamryan1.bandcamp.com
CD release July 2023
I am grateful for the generosity of spirit of the many musicians on this project. All phenomenal people, great players and exceptional ambassadors for music, every one. Thank you:
Guitar: Nick Granville, Dean Hetherington, Chet O'Connell, Regan Perry.
Bass: Peter Stroud, Liam Ryan
Saxophone: Alex Nyman, Hayden Baird
Horns: Rodger Fox, Jack Harre, Mike Booth
Drums: Steve Garden, Josh Sorenson
Hammond, pianos, synth and strings: Liam Ryan
Harp: Midge Marsden, Haggis Macguiness
Vocals: Sarah Spicer, Liam Ryan
Percussion and voice Artist: Amir Yussof
Flute: Greg Latham
Producer: Liam Ryan
Mastering: Mike Bloemendal
Photography: Harry Harrison
Artwork: Mike Dunn/Tribal Brands
You can find more information about Liam's music and purchase tracks from:
https://liamryan1.bandcamp.com
TORCH MUSIC STUDIO PROJECTS :
- Hamin Derus & Bamboo (6-track EP mix)
- Noel Coutts & Dean Hetherington - The Empire Sessions (12-track Album mix)
- The Flaming Mudcats (11-track 'Til The Money's All Gone album mix)
- Amir Yussof (3 x Singles - keyboards and production)
- Sarah Spicer (6-track EP - The Affirmations)
- Evan Silva (Singles - co-writes, pre production keyboards and arrangements)
- Rodger Fox (Bird of Prayer - Big Band composition & arrangement)
- Chet O' Connell (Single - keyboards)
- The Flaming Mudcats (Till The Money's All Gone - album mix and master).
- Fraser Coombes (single - Crazy - keyboards)
- Evan Silva (string arrangements and production for 2 singles - Getting Late & Just Us Two)
- Ian Thomson & Pete Parnham - co-write songwriting sessions
- Composition & arrangement for orchestral self project - Blue Threnody (The Long Goodbye)- co;aboration with Harry Harrison ( gtr), Peter Stroud (bass) and Justine Snelgrove ( flute)
- Noel Coutts tracks remix, mastering and complation project (6 albums)
- The Flaming Mudcats - mastering Black Limousine vinyl album release
- Evan Silva - production, mix and master Anya & master Xmas single
- Lucky Strike remix and electro-jazz production on Monticello project
- Recording sessions with local Waihi Air Sculptures Songwriters Collective
- Keyboard session for Amir Yussoff's Now That You're Gone single
- Composition, string arrangement and collaboration with bassist Sid Limbert on Efflurage self-project
- Evan Silva 6IX project - collaboration on 3 songs.
- PASTICHE - recording and mixing - EP project released 11.11.25
- Tarek Bazely - On The Edge of Town - single- keyboards
- Sundancer (Running Rings Around The Moon)- single - collab. with Evan Silva, Josh Sorenson, Jack Stradwick and Mark Dennison
MUSIC
