Kevin Bronson on March 31st, 2020

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Oakland-bred singer-songwriter Rob Fidel moved to L.A. in 2016 after his previous band, Tumbleweed Wanders, broke up. Since then, he’s been engaged in both music and the visual arts. Until recently, Fidel was a member of the Soft White Sixties, and he’s worked in film and as a production designer and animator, including credits on music videos by Lauren Ruth Ward, Glossies and Bad Suns.

His work in the visual arts is notable for at least once reason — Fidel is colorblind. It’s a condition he explores musically on his forthcoming debut EP, “Changing Hues.”

Fidel’s first single “Cosmic Blue,” released last week, is a lovestruck, retro-sounding tune that shuffles down from the heavens on a constellation of background vocals and a twinkling barroom piano. If the aesthetic sounds familiar, it’s no accident — Fidel made the EP at the National Freedom studio in Cottage Grove, Ore., headquarters of the late Richard Swift.

The spirit the beloved singer-songwriter and producer is alive in this one. Produced by Elijah Thomson, the bassist for Father John Misty who has production credits dating back to the early 2000s, the recordings feature another Swift confidant, drummer Frank Lenz, as well as keyboardist Drew Erickson, who has played with Weyes Blood, Roger Waters and Jonathan Wilson.

“Cosmic Blue” is inspired by a first date — one that happened during a fierce L.A. rainstorm that caused flash floods and power outages. The couple was forced to stay inside in the dark. It’s weird kismet that Fidel released the song on Friday, the day the state of California officially went into quarantine mode. One thing for sure: It’s a good tune for sheltering in place.

||| Stream: “Cosmic Blue”