Few artists capture the collision of internal emotion and natural beauty quite like Bjéar. The South Australian songwriter-producer, known for weaving indie-folk intimacy with sweeping sonic landscapes, returns with ‘After The Rain’, a deeply reflective EP that reads like a journal written in the language of weather and healing.
Crafted across cabins, coastlines, and quiet corners of the Adelaide Hills, the four-track release is both raw and redemptive, an ode to mourning, hope, and the patterns that shape us.
With over 20 million streams to date and a growing global audience, ‘After The Rain’ marks a new chapter that’s more hopeful, more spacious, and rooted in lived experience. We caught up with Bjéar (aka Brae McKee) to talk about songwriting as survival, finding rhythm in nature, and why this EP feels like the prologue to something even bigger.
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Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in music?
My family had a nylon and a piano, and I was always drawn to them. I taught myself slowly and eventually began playing electric guitar at church and writing hardcore music and gigging for most of my teenage years.
Who are your biggest musical influences and how have they shaped your sound?
I think the clear modern influences on my sound are clear – Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros, The National, Frank Ocean, Adrianne Lenker, James Blake and more, but the more subconscious influences from when I was discovering music as a kid (who may have had more of an impact on my sound) are probably Coldplay, Switchfoot, Underoath, Arcade Fire.
Was there a specific moment or experience that made you decide to pursue music seriously?
I think it was my first serious girlfriend breaking up with me haha. I was studying Architecture, dating her, and I never felt like I’d given it much of a go, so when it all fell apart I quit university and decided to start writing and releasing music with more intention.
Can you walk us through your typical songwriting process?
It varies a little, but most days it starts with me sitting with my guitar or piano, and a melody will come, sometimes a lyric. If it excites me I’ll take it further that day, trying to get a solid demo completed. Sometimes it’ll take months to feel right about the lyrics, sometimes it’s only 20 minutes.
How do you find inspiration for your music and lyrics?
They sort of just come to me when they want to. I think the songs/ideas are already out there, I’m just waiting for them to come to me. Sort of like going fishing. I have to be active in my life, living, feeling and adventuring, but for me, a lot of it is about patience and being contemplative. The less social media, noise, entertainment, the more room my mind has to receive the good songs, the good lines, the good melodies.
What themes or messages do you hope listeners take away from your music?
Good question. I just want to share my experience in this life so that other people might feel moved, inspired, energised, and see some of their own experience and know they’re not alone. My songs sometimes lean sad, but I want people to feel that there’s always hope around the corner. I guess the main thing though is I want them to be deeply moved in the way that bands like Sigur Ros and Bon Iver have moved me.
What challenges have you faced as an emerging artist in the music industry?
Getting the music heard. It can be really tough without a team, without label services, without a bit of capital behind you, to get the songs to the right audience, or any audience. I have an incredible little fanbase, but I’d love to grow that more.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of your musical journey so far?
It’s always special when someone sends a message and tells me how important a song or an album has been to them. That it’s done something significant in their life, helped them through some difficult time, or been a point of celebration and tied to good memories.
How do you stay true to yourself and your artistry in a constantly evolving industry?
I think I can safely say that the one thing I do have is integrity. I write what I love and want to hear, I post what I want to post, I put on and play the best live shows I can. I don’t really compromise as an artist, which is probably to the detriment of my career, but I’d rather have my integrity. My soul, if you will.
What can fans expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or tours?
I have an album mastered and ready to release. It’s the best thing I’ve made. I hope I’m able to get it in the right hands, and be able to tour it in 2026.
Where do you see yourself and your music career in the next five years?
I’ll never stop writing or releasing music. Whatever comes of that is ok with me. I do see a lot more writing and producing moving forward, but my hope and dream is for Bjéar to find a real sustainable audience in this world.
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Listen to Bjéar’s new EP ‘After The Rain’ below.
