Ryan Monro (born 26 July 1981) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

, known for playing with Australian ska/jazz band

The Cat Empire The Cat Empire are an Australian jazz/funk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999. For most of the band's duration, the core members were Felix Riebl (lead vocals, percussion), Harry James Angus (trumpet, vocals), Will Hull-Brown (drums), ...

. He was bassist for The Cat Empire from its inception until 2021 and also plays in jazz trio "The Genie", which includes fellow Cat Empire members,

Ollie McGill Oliver James McGill (born 2 November 1981) is an Australian musician who is the keyboard player and backing vocalist for The Cat Empire. He composed "Dumb Ways to Die" for Metro Trains Melbourne. McGill is also a member of several other bands, ...

on keyboards and Will Hull Brown on drums. His cousin is Shaun Taylor, a farmer, and chef. Monro originally started playing

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

in grade 9 at

Frankston High School Frankston High School (abbreviated as FHS) or simply Frankston High, is a government-funded co-educational high school, located in , Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school offers education for students from Year 7 to Year 12. School profil ...

but soon moved to

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

. He later picked up

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

and after graduating from high school, attended the Victorian College of Arts. In late 1999, Monro met and began playing in a trio with Ollie McGill on keyboards and

Felix Riebl Felix Riebl (born 1 May 1981) is a singer, songwriter, and composer based in Melbourne. He is the co-founder, band leader and principal songwriter of the internationally acclaimed band The Cat Empire, who have made multi-platinum albums, and are ...

on percussion and vocals. Calling themselves "The Cat Empire", they started playing a wide variety of gigs in clubs like Dizzy's and Bennett's Lane in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The band soon expanded in 2001 adding

Harry James Angus Harry James Angus (born 11 June 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter, trumpet player and guitarist. He was one of the lead vocalists in the Melbourne band The Cat Empire along with Felix Riebl. He joined the group in early 2000 and left ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

, Will Hull-Brown on drums and Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwala as a DJ. With the band, he released eight studio albums. It was announced in March 2021 that Monro was retiring from the band. He was scheduled to play his last show at the

Sidney Myer Music Bowl The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment prec ...

on 6 March 2021, however he rejoined the band to play their final Melbourne shows in December 2021. He played his final show with the band on 16 December 2021. Since 2017, he has played bass for Melbourne band The Meltdown. He created a recording of

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...

speaking clock A speaking clock or talking clock is a live or recorded human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observa ...

before it went offline in 2019 and used the recording for a new website, .

Discography

Solo * Isolated Bass (2021) with The Cat Empire * ''

'' (2003) * ''

Two Shoes ''Two Shoes'' is the second studio album by Australian ska-jazz band the Cat Empire, which was issued on 19 April 2005. It is the follow-up to their successful self-titled debut album. It was recorded in November to December 2004 in Havana, ...

'' (2005) * '' Cities: The Cat Empire Project'' (2006) * ''

So Many Nights ''So Many Nights'' is the Cat Empire's fourth studio album. On 30 July 2007, the band announced on their website and to their mailing list that the album has been released on 22 September. The release of the album was followed by an Australian ...

'' (2007) * ''

Cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

'' (2010) * '' Steal the Light'' (2013) * ''

Rising with the Sun ''Rising with the Sun'' is the seventh studio album by Melbourne band the Cat Empire. It was produced by Jan Skubiszewski and released on 4 March 2016 through Two Shoes Records. The first single was "Qué Será Ahora", followed by "Wolves" and ...

'' (2016) * '' Stolen Diamonds'' (2019) with The Genie * Here Come the Scissors (2011) * Two (2013) Other session work * Jackson Jackson – The Fire is on the Bird (2007) * Jackson Jackson – Tools For Survival (2008) *

Bran Nue Dae __NOTOC__ ''Bran Nue Dae'' is a 1990 musical set in Broome, Western Australia, that tells stories and of issues relating to Indigenous Australians. It was written by Jimmy Chi and his band Kuckles and friends, and was the first Aboriginal Aust ...

(2009) * Washington – I Believe You Liar (2010) (on "One Man Band") * Magnolia – This is Magnolia (2010) * Owl Eyes – Faces EP (2010) * Jackson Jackson – Dave EP (2011) * Felix Riebl – Into the Rain (2011) * Luke Howard – Sun, Cloud (2013) * Ella Hooper – In Tongues (2014) * Felix Riebl – Paper Doors (2016) * Luke Howard – Two Places (2016) * Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You (TV score – 2018) * Delta Goodrem – I Honestly Love You (2018) * Daniel Farrugia – Replicants (2021) * Felix Riebl – Everyday Amen (2022) * The Meltdown – It's a Long Road (2022) *

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the rock, soul, jazz and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her single " Bedroom Eyes" re ...

– My Life is a Symphony (2023) * Rob Grant – Lost at Sea (2023) * The Meltdown — Live at the Nightcat (2023)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, Ryan 1981 births Living people Australian male double-bassists 21st-century Australian double-bassists 21st-century Australian bass guitarists 21st-century Australian male musicians The Cat Empire members Australian male guitarists Victorian College of the Arts alumni Musicians from Melbourne