Meet: Kiera Jas

From the beautiful southern coast of Western Australia hails the thoughtful songwriting, heartfelt melodies and delicate vocals of solo indie artist Kiera Jas. Recently supporting Mama Kin Spender on their Northwest tour, and having a collab with ASKYA titled Above Water trend across acoustic playlists on Spotify and YouTube, and receive a nomination at the West Australian Music Song of The Year in the Folk Category, the singer-songwriter continues to spread her wings in the Australian music scene with her latest single Bicycle. 

With the rhythmic plucks of an electric guitar, a driving bass line, and infectiously uplifting drum beat to back her, Kiera weaves tender melodies throughout Bicycle, perfectly embellished with soft and sweet vocal harmonies. Centred around the narrative of riding a bicycle, and facing challenges of the wind in her eyes, cars, and pedalling up hills, Kiera Jas paints a descriptive landscape, inviting us into her world, and keeping us there with the addictive hook “like a stolen bicycle fading out of view, we’re cruising slowly”. Joyful and optimistic, it's a track that acknowledges that life can be pretty fast paced and challenging at times like the deep burn of riding a bicycle up a hill, but serves as a sweet reminder to take things slow and just enjoy the ride. 

The single releasing today, we thought we’d take the chance to get to know the up and coming artist and their craft a little better. Be sure to hit play on Kiera Jas’ latest uplifting release Bicycle, and read a bit more about her below. 

Tell us about yourself? 

I am a curly-headed 22-year-old based in a beautiful, beachside town near Margaret River, WA; the ocean is a huge source of inspiration for me and I thrive off cold morning swims to start my day, all year round whenever I can!

Outside of music I drink lots of tea, read lots of books, meditate, absolutely love a good boogie and I am a big lover of nature. I also have a passion for vintage fashion and always find joy in creating unique, colourful outfits to express myself. 

How long have you been making music?

I’ve been making music for about 6 years now. It all started when I begged my mum for singing lessons at 14, initially to get me through an audition for a school musical. I received professional lessons for about 3 years with Margaret River based Musician and Vocal coach, Michelle Spriggs. I got really into it and absolutely loved exploring what my voice could do. Then one day, I picked up my Dad’s dusty acoustic, found one of my old poetry books and flicked through the pages until I found poems I could turn into melodies with the guitar. Soon enough I was writing my own songs and now have the pleasure of singing them to wonderful strangers and friends, and myself. 

Tell us about your creative process? 

This is always evolving and changing for me. Sometimes I hear a melody out of nowhere pop into my mind - my natural impulse is to stop everything I’m doing and grab it on a voice memo or meld it with the nearest guitar or ukulele. Other times, I dream about songs and attempt to bring them to life in the morning. I’m not quite sure if these could be considered processes but…I’ll roll with it. Journaling is another huge part of my creative process. I find it is a highly useful and wonderful tool that lends greatly to my song-writing and self-expression, sometimes very unexpectedly too. The spontaneity of my creative processes is what I love most about it all; I am typical of “scheduling” in song-writing once the melody and/or lyrics have made themselves known to me; demanding pen, paper and a cup of English breakfast tea. Sometimes a song takes 10 mins to create, other times 2 months. It’s a truly wild adventure.

I have learned to adapt my creative processes when collaborating with other artists too. I’m like a little chameleon when it comes to creating music, always merging with the environment, feelings and people surrounding me yet staying vibrant and true to my styles.

What inspires you to create music/art?

Like many songwriters, I am deeply inspired by travelling, romance, colours and nature. My music is quite reflective of my life experiences; my songs tend to catch me in my most vulnerable moments. I also like to draw inspiration from the simple things in life too, like bike riding for example! I LOVE riding my bike (especially down hills so I can pretend I'm flying)....there’s always songs for the simple pleasures! Deep and meaningful conversations with different types of people also really inspire me. I love that feeling when time warps and you don't even remember how the conversation started. I also love that people will never know I may have written a song about them.

Tell us about your new single Bicycle?

BICYCLEEEE!!! Oh my, I am so very excited about this new single. At the time I wrote this song I was doing a lot of moving around and hopping on my bike was a ticket to instant joy and a sense of freedom. I intend for this song to be a reminder to slow down and just enjoy the ride of life. I am so fortunate to have worked with Perth Producer/ultimate legend, Andy Lawson (Debaser Studio) on this track. The studio sessions became these precious time capsules for joyous giggles and fun which really shines through the song. The epic drum track you hear is by another Perth luminary, Caleb Quartermaine. For extra bop, my dear friend Peppa Lane laid down the catchy bass lines. I simple cannot wait for this song to land in more ears!

What’s coming up for the rest of the year? 

Got a few exciting things in the works actually!

Here’s where you’ll find me:

- 8th and 9th October: Strings Attached Guitar Festival, Margaret River, WA.

- 8th October – Froth Craft Bunbrewery with Jordy Maxwell and Sam McGovern

- 13th October - Ronnie Nights, Fremantle WA - Bicycle Single Launch

- 28th October - Cosy Concert at the Gracetown Community Hall near Margaret River, WA.

- 19th November – Here Comes the Sun Festival 

I am also stoked to announce that there’s a few more tunes waiting in the pipeline for release and “Bicycle” is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Kiera Jas!

How can fans best support your music?

Follow the socials, share my music with your friends and family at dinner time, subscribe to my YouTube Channel Kiera Jas, listen to my tunes when you ride your bicycle (or scooter if that’s what you dig…) and of course please purchase tickets to my upcoming and future shows and tours!!!

You can find all above information in my linktree HERE

And stay updated on these platforms: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM

And leave reviews on Triple J Unearthed HERE

What have you been listening to lately?

The Preatures, Ocie Elliot, Parcels and Chad Lawson’s ”You Finally Knew” Instrumental Piano album.

Follow Kiera Jas: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM