Oh

A fearless newbie on the electronic scene proves experience ain't everything.

[GLITCH DIVA] It's rare to come across a musician as talented and promising as Oh, who—with less than two years of songwriting experience—is still a relative newbie. But Oh, who works a compact range of musical temperaments rooted in sharp, metallic, glitchy-as-hell IDM and stacked with scribe-cum-songstress femme punk (think ADULT.'s Nicola Kuperus or the Blow in a state of deep-freeze), is one of those rare finds. A writer by nature, Oh moved here only a year and a half ago from Seattle, where she started out as a zine maker (former WW music editor Mark Baumgarten was one of the first interviewees for her short-lived rag, Propeller). Musically, the mousy 28-year-old (who prefers to be known only as Oh) lacks the usual Portland band lineage many local acts rely on, as well as any music-school chops (save for voice classes).

No matter: Less than a month ago, Oh was found offering an über-confident, late-night performance to the panhandlers and wasted hipsters crawling between My Father's Place and Slow Bar on MLK Boulevard. She took to her rainy sidewalk stage beneath the dim blue lights of Mr. Car Wash and—with her mic and Electribe sampler/beat maker illicitly plugged into a random (and damp) outdoor outlet—pumped her unique brand of scrapyard industrial-techno diva jams onto the street (a performance that echoed the guerilla public appearance at Pioneer Courthouse Square of one of her local favorites, electro-spaz artist Panther). Alas, after a mere 10 minutes, the noise cops crashed Oh's car-wash session; she was left with a water-fried Electribe—which she has replaced with a shiny, out-of-the-box version—plus some minor local renown. Her notoriety as an up-and-coming Portlander has only grown since.

The hellbent, manic attitude exhibited by Oh's spontaneous street performance—plus a half-random run-in with Disscompany boss Colin Jones (who found Oh at her Lloyd Center serving job)—earned her a regular string of house-party gigs and an upcoming self-titled release on Disscompany, not to mention shows with label compatriots Brokaw and Jones himself. Oh's also involved in ever-multiplying collaborations—including time with the all-female rap/dance crew Lactacious, and she scored herself a regular spot DJing for the Portland Radio Authority (Tuesdays, 4-6 pm). Add to that an upcoming release with Nate Diggy and collaborations with Dismal City artists DJ Tan't and Fogatron, and it appears this fearless newbie is living up to her own words: “I wasn't going to be afraid of being new at something.”

Oh celebrates the release of Oh Thursday, March 15, with Ca$io, Shambles, Sixteen Switches and Dantronix at Holocene. 9 pm. $5. 21+.

WWeek 2015

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