Seattle Folk Fusion

Motopony

Motopony
Motopony

Daniel Blue — who once made love in the bathroom at Eugene’s Ninkasi Brewery — grew up in a highly religious family where he wasn’t allowed to listen to secular music.

Now, he’s the frontman of Motopony, the Seattle sextet that fuses Northwest indie folk with the current electronic craze.

Nothing epitomizes Motopony’s genre — or lack thereof — more than “Wait For Me,” a track off their eponymous debut album, produced by hip-hop and electronic producer Buddy Ross. The song starts simply, with just acoustic guitar and Blue’s folky voice, but then come trippy synths and electronic harmonies rivaling Odesza.

After the first album, Blue decided to expand the band, which now has six members who write songs together. Motopony recently released its third album, Welcome You, which took the band to India and back, returning with a sitarist (à la The Beatles).

“I think that it does have sort of an eclectic appeal, but we’re odd in that we have six writers and six different tastes coming into the music itself,” Blue says. “We just boil it down until everybody’s happy. And it’s a fucking long process, but noble.”

Blue says he views this collaborative process as a spiritual experience.

“I love collaboration; I really believe in it,” he says. “I think human unity is the most powerful force on the planet.”

And for the future? The philosophical frontman isn’t worried: “I think we’ll just proceed to be influenced by the random chaos theory of the direction of the art.

Motopony performs with Tristen and Big Harp 8 pm Sunday, June 28, at WOW Hall; $8 adv., $10 door. All ages.