“Simultaneously soothing and alarming, Liow’s pianistic vocabulary comfortably straddles invention and tradition that speaks in a voice that is immediately his own.”

An award winning pianist, composer and producer from Melbourne, Australia, Nathan Liow is known for his daring piano and installation works featured in gallery spaces, in film and in his solo and trio projects.

During Melbourne’s lockdown, he was commissioned by the City of Melbourne to broadcast a series of concerts from Brunswick’s Tempo Rubato. Liow’s latest installation work, “Air(borne)” premiered via Diversity Arts Australia in tandem with works by other eminent Asian-Australian artists, and exhibited at Sydney’s 4A Gallery for Contemporary Asian Art, and at RMIT in Melbourne.

His other gallery installation works include his cross-pacific collaboration with social practice artist Carmen Papallia, “Music For Eyes” as a part of Incinerator Gallery's exhibition “With Seeing Hands”. Liow's hybrid installation work, “Artifacts”, was exhibited at West Space Gallery as a part of Next Wave Festival, in remote-collaboration with Brooklyn-based noise-artist Angus Tarnawsky.

His compositions are featured on a diverse array of projects including original soundtrack for the MIFF Official Selection film “Creswick” and award-winning film “Burrow”, both by acclaimed filmmaker Natalie James. More recently he performed along side Andrea Keller and Sam Keevers as a part of Andrea Keller’s Piano club at Melbourne’s Jazzlab.

Participating in the prestigious Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in 2014 afforded Liow the opportunity to study under the mentorship of Grammy-nominated, Downbeat and NPR acclaimed New York pianist and composer Vijay Iyer. Liow is also an alumnus of New York School for Improvised Music where he studied under the tutelage of Fred Hersch, and a multiple scholarship recipient during his time studying at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne.

He has performed internationally in NYC, Canada, Japan and Shanghai where he resided in 2009-2010, and has performed for Australian Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Tony Abbott. His music has been featured on ABC Radio, Radio National, Triple J, RRR, PBS and 3MBS.

Read Grant Purdum's review of "Artifacts" on Tiny Mixed Tapes.