Kevin Bronson on March 23rd, 2018

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Six years ago, Joachim Cooder released his “debut album,” which you would not have known was his except for the album spine and the songwriting credits. That album, “Love on a Real Train,” featured Cooder’s songs performed by a stellar cast of vocalists, including Petra Haden, Inara George, Cooder’s wife Juliette Commagere and his brother-in-law Robert Francis. So his forthcoming EP “Fuchsia Machu Picchu” is a mouthful in more ways than just the title — he sings on it.

Cooder, son of (and now collaborator with) legendary guitarist Ry Cooder, cut his teeth as a drummer. He has since played with an estimable cast of artists and expanded his purview as a songwriter, composer and producer. But it wasn’t until fatherhood approached that he was given to raise his own voice. The lush, spacey songs on the EP have their roots in Cooder’s playful sessions singing over an electric mbira. “I’m always hearing some sort of defunct cosmic ice cream truck in my head – that’s the sound I’m after with my mbiras and tank drums and other tuned percussion,” he explains. “Hopefully people will get that.”

“Fuchsia Machu Picchu” is out March 30. It’s a family affair, with Ry Cooder contributing guitar, bass, banjo and mandocello, Commagere on backing vocals and bass, and Francis adding backing vocals and guitar.

||| Stream: “Everyone Sleeps in the Light” and “Fuchsia Machu Picchu”

||| Live: Joachim Cooder celebrates his EP release with a show April 9 at Zebulon, along with Buzzy Lee. Info. He also plays an in-store at Fingerprints in Long Beach on April 5.