Kevin Bronson on June 23rd, 2016

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Twenty-seven-year-old Dylan Luster makes deeply resonant, fairly traditional folk music, informed by the blues and a little bossa nova — the kind of songs that wear like denim. His self-titled debut EP, out Friday via Starfish Records, was informed in part by his work history, which has included jobs as a gravedigger and crematory operator. The four songs, textured with harmonica and pedal steel, were produced and mixed by another L.A. songsmith mining roots music, Gold Star’s Marlon Rabenreither. All coalesce on the world-weary meditation “Soul Remains,” as Luster sings “Through the pain and trouble and strife / They can break my body but the soul remains.”

The stark feel of the song inspired visual artist Nitin Vadukul’s video for the song. “It’s such a moving and powerful track,” says Vadukul, whose credits include Radiohead, Jay Z and (no kidding) the Dalai Lama. “I thought only of deep shadows and etherial slow-motion to capture the essence of the words, which I could relate to in my life. This gave me a strong sense of emotions.” Witness its strength here.

||| Watch: The video for “Soul Remains”

||| Live: Dylan Luster celebrates the EP release with a show June 29 at the Cactus Lounge at the Standard Hollywood as part of “Desert Nights” with KCRW’s DJ Valida.