John Carter Cash says he found his voice at 53 (Exclusive)

John Carter Cash is in a position in his life and career where he knows exactly what he wants.

The 55-year-old Grammy Award-winning artist, producer, and torch bearer for the Cash Carter family tells PEOPLE that his latest album, Pineapple John, is a concise reflection of his current brain, recalled through the lens of the titular character Pineapple John, a singer-songwriter exhausted by a fictional life spent at sea.

Although the concept is relatively fanciful, Cash said Pineapple John is a “truly personal record” and was influenced, at least in part, by a time in his life spent in Jamaica, which was a adopted home for his parents, the legendary Johnny Cash and June Carter.

“I grew up with calypso and reggae. We were surrounded by calypso and reggae and actually played it…When I was in Jamaica, in my 20s, so it wasn’t foreign to me at all,” the artist says of the genre’s overtures, summarizing his new project.

Over 15 songs, Carter Cash weaves the story of Pineapple John through breezy, beach-friendly tunes such as “Sleeping with the Mermaid,” “Soon Come,” and the title track, “Pineapple John.”

The artist deftly balances steel drum-infused beats with a healthy dose of meditative reflection. That’s evident in songs like “Snow on the Sand,” “Beckoning Melody,” and the project’s three-part musical journey that closes out the album, “The Island Fair/Captain Jim’s Drunken Dream/Carry On.”

Carter Cash added about his influence on Pineapple John: “The ocean is such a scary part of my life. I dream about the ocean. I think about it. I have a boat in Florida. I go out to sea many hours a year chasing elusive fish. I come from a family of sailors and my father’s blood runs through my veins, so it’s just in my blood.”

It wasn’t just sunny beaches and seashores that inspired the artist for this project. But there was also a healthy collaborative effort from his closest friends and family.

“My friends, right? I mean,[my son]Jack and I were driving around, and Jack hit out the rhythm and I came up with ‘Pineapple John,’ and we just felt comfortable together,” he said. “He and I came up with the idea together, and the song was spontaneously written in pieces and we just cut it up on the computer. Then we had to finish it in time and do all this crazy stuff. He was there as my son and as my sidekick.”

Carter Cash continued, “And my son Joseph is such a great musician and plays mandolin and electric guitar and keyboards on the record…I love his keyboard work. It’s really, really cool.”

Although he admits he doesn’t see the latter “that much,” he adds, “He was very close while I was making this record. And his best friend Forrest Cashion was also playing keyboards,[and was]very close.”

A collaborative effort was also made by the daughters to truly continue the Carter family tradition. “And my eldest daughter AB sent me the lyrics. She said, ‘Here are the lyrics,’ and based on them I wrote the melody for Beckoning Melody. It’s her story, and it fits. For me, it’s the rise of a character. It’s about making a choice. He’s the one who moves forward.”

Youngest daughter Grace, 8, also appears on “The Hole in the Bottom of the Sea,” and her father notes that “you can hear her voice at the end” of the song.

Of course, Cash also has to pay tribute to his iconic father, who planted the seed in his younger self that would eventually inspire Pineapple John, and the cover he chose to include on the album.

“There were songs that I loved, and for me, it was the songs he would sing when he would get up and play at bars. Those were the songs of his life,” he says.

Carter Cash continued, “The first time I heard him sing ‘Shame and Scandal’ was in a bar in Bimini. I was 13 years old. He was singing that song and I thought it was autobiographical. I thought, ‘Dad, are you trying to tell me something?'” And that has a lot to do with my memory. ”

After all, Carter Cash speculates that his family and their various musical endeavors, both with him in the studio and through posthumous inspiration, can only be described as a “melting pot.”

“That’s what this album is…I’m finding the truth of the matter. I think I found my voice at 53 years old…That’s what this album is…a melting pot. There’s so much in there. There’s as much Carter Family in me as there is AC/DC, and it’s very honest.”

Pineapple John will be available to watch on all major streaming services on Friday, October 10th.