Capitol Hill Block Party 2012: Onuinu

Photo by Suzi Pratt

Shrouded in billows of smoke on the Neumos stage, this ominous setting belied the effervescent sound of Portland-based electronic act Onuinu.

The stage name of Dorian Duvall, the normally solo singer/guitarist/producer performed with additional help from a keyboardist/guitarist and a drummer. The crowd gathered that afternoon was thick but not shoulder-to-shoulder crowded, which made it perfect for isolated Seattle-style dancing.

Wearing his influences on his sleeve (YMO and the Talking Heads among the most obvious), Duvall and company artfully mixed warped synth melodies with more organic guitar sounds to create tunes that seemed vaguely familiar but fantastically new at once. At times, the music seemed ripe for the soundtrack to a stylized 1980s drama.

Onuinu ended the set with its newest single titled “Ice Palaces,” a song reminiscent of Toro Y Moi with its sticky-sounding looped rhythms and hypnotic vocals.