In the summer of 2020, Aaron Benson (drums, percussion, guitar) and his wife Emily began hosting weekly bonfires at their home. Keyboardist Kim West and her husband Ryan Devlin (bass and guitar) were in regular attendance, along with a handful of neighbors and friends. It was the era of lockdown and social distancing, and the Benson bonfires became a sanctuary of connection. The tradition lasted until autumn’s arrival and the notorious Seattle rain that came with it.

With the skies darkening, Aaron asked Kim and Ryan if they’d care to come into his home studio, Mad Val, and hear some of the great drum sounds he was getting. This first spark inspired the three musicians to join forces and jam: Kim on her electric piano and synthesizer, Ryan on bass, and Aaron on kit and running tape op. With no direction other than the joy of making music, they played for hours on end. The compositions came naturally, and with the liberty of no expectations, the trio found themselves combining sounds, genres, and textures in surprising ways. The first session was labeled “KRA 1,” for Kim, Ryan, and Aaron.

By the time the group got to “KRA 18” almost two years later, the world was beginning to reemerge. After a horn session with Jason Cressey (trombone), Peter Daniel (sax and flute), and Bill Jones (trumpet), they settled on a name for their genre bending, interstellar instrumental music project: mega cat.

Guitarist Dave Dederer (Presidents of the United States of America) and percussionist Jacob Whinihan (Special Explosion, Scarves) joined the group, and soon mega cat became a fully realized, live band. Seattle label Share It Music released mega cat’s self titled debut in February of 2024. The band selected SMASH (Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Health Care) as the beneficiary for Share It Music’s non profit revenue share model. The record immediately found support, landing in the top 20 adds on the NACC charts, and on the top ten most played on KEXP. mega cat was subsequently invited to the KEXP studios to record an in-studio with legendary DJ Kevin Cole.

You can catch mega cat playing their semi improvised, punk infused instrumental music at clubs and festivals across the NW this summer and fall.