San Diego has been home to many versatile musicians with long-running careers, but few have been as chameleon-like as Marcelo Radulovich. The closest the local music scene ever got to creating something of a David Bowie, the multi-instrumentalist Radulovich has been a cutting-edge performer since the early ’80s. He is at home with experimental music, dissonant funk rock or singer-songwriter material and a lot of things in between. On Sept. 18 at 8 p.m., Radulovich performs at Dream Street in singer-songwriter mode — though with a twist. Taking the genre into the future, he will be using electronic backing instead of the traditional acoustic guitar. “It is a little different,” Radulovich said. While purists might consider such a technological incursion unusual, it’s a means to an end for him. “I use a lot of samples and electronics, but it’s so that what you hear onstage is actually similar to what you hear in my recordings.” Radulovich said audiences are often a little surprised to find a singer-songwriter without a guitar or piano. “It is a little strange, but once they get over the oddity of the setup, it goes down smoothly,” Radulovich said. Born in Santiago, Chile, Radulovich was raised in Costa Rica before finally settling in San Diego at age 15. Within two years, he was fronting various bands, hitting paydirt with legendary local quartet Playground Slap. With them, he played a mix of funk, rock and psychedelia, but for the better part of the past two decades, he’s specialized in electronic, improvisational and ambient sounds. For Radulovich’s current project, he’s heading back to his roots. “I spent years playing experimental music, but I went back to songs, which is basically my true love,” Radulovich said. “However, I’m incorporating all that I’ve learned through those years. As I see it, whenever there are vocals, a human presence, that’s what can touch an audience.” Prolific to a fault, Radulovich has released 11 solo albums and more than a dozen collaborative CDs. However, he only plays music from his recent albums “Mercurio” (2007), “Vertigo at Lunchtime” (2008) and his most recent work, “Summer in Winter” (2008). Even with such a huge discography, Radulovich is quick to point out his favorite among his release. “I suppose it’s a cliché that everyone says their favorite is their most recent, but in this case it’s true,” Radulovich said. “Part of it is that the album was done so quickly, pretty much ready in a couple of months. That’s kept it fresh.” Radulovich notes that, despite nearly three decades as a musician, he’s gone back to his earliest musical influences. “It’s a blend of things like T-Rex, ’60s songs and so on,” he said. Considering the electronic nature of Radulovich’s music, it may be a bit of a surprise to learn that one of his biggest influences in his new project is Hank Williams. “When I started to get out of the experimental stuff, I went back to things like Williams, because it brought me back to the guitar, and my music took off again from there,” Radulovich said. “After a while, I did some recordings on the guitar and then added electronics back in. I sort of created a blend that brings everything full circle.” After nearly three decades performing, though his music has gone through many changes, Radulovich still enjoys performing as he did in his teens. “Actually even more now,” he said. According to Radulovich, his recent increase in gigging and writing is all part of an epiphany with respect to his music. “I’ve gone through all those phases that every musician does,” Radulovich said. “Questioning everything. You know, is it all worth it and so on. But I realized that making music is something that I truly love doing. And with that realization comes the need to take action.” Radulovich will perform on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. at Dream Street, 2228 Bacon St. The show is for those 21 and up. For more information, visit www.marceloradulovich.com.