Kevin Bronson on May 2nd, 2017

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Omar Velasco has long juggled his solo endeavors with work as a sideman, which has included playing with A Fine Frenzy, Jonathan Wilson and, most recently, Cameron Avery (of Tame Impala) and Vieux Farka Toure. In June he will release a new, self-titled EP, the follow-up to his 2015 full-length, the breezy/funky “Golden Child.” The new EP is written mainly in Velasco’s first language, Spanish, but the theme of the first single “Paloma” is universal. “It’s about human interconnectedness and the absurd tragedy of war-making,” Velasco says. “About offering to the world peace and love even in spite of how impossible everything seems at times. A denouncement of greed and its devastating effects.” Indeed, over a palette of the Latin and Afro-beat music, Velasco declares “Todos somos hermanos / De un mismo corazón” (We are all brothers / from the same heart) and calls for the world to embrace the paloma blanca, or white dove. There can never be too many peace songs, and in any language “Paloma’s” message is timeless.

||| Stream: “Paloma”

||| Live: Omar Velasco plays tonight at the Hi Hat, the opener of a Tuesday night May residency

||| Previously: An interview and “Golden Child”