The Members of Tom Kha Say A Heartfelt Goodbye to ‘Spectrum’

Peter Merritt – Co-Founder

1. Tell us your favorite memory of Spectrum.

That’s a tough one. Every single Spectrum event has been really special for me, but if I had to choose one it would be when we had a surprise G Jones set. It was really amazing seeing an artist of that caliber and popularity playing a small, intimate venue like the Monkey Loft. It was even more amazing seeing people’s faces as they realized what was going on and who was playing!

That’s really one of the great things about having a repeating, consistent event: you have more wiggle room to do things like have surprise sets, keep people on their toes.

2. If you had to describe Spectrum in 1 sentence, what would it be?

Spectrum is the attempt of a few people that are deeply passionate about underground electronic music to provide a space for the dance music community to gather, have fun, dance, and even more importantly to broaden the definition of what dance music truly means by introducing the community to new sounds and styles of the most cutting-edge producers and DJs from around the world.

3. Why is Spectrum coming to a close?

Spectrum is really special to us for a variety of reasons. Not only was it our introduction into the Seattle electronic music scene as promoters, but it was ultimately where we developed our following and how we got to where we are now. Both as promoters under Tom Kha and as DJ’s.

We developed a lot of really important relationships through Spectrum, especially with the Monkey Loft, and we are eternally grateful to them for giving us our start in Seattle.

It wasn’t an easy decision for us, but we eventually decided that we had come to a point where we wanted to refocus the efforts of Tom Kha on bigger shows that are more rewarding for us, the TK crew, the artists we bring in, our patrons, and the scene in general..

4. What’s next for you and Tom Kha?

You’ll be seeing us branching out into new venues, including some underground warehouse spaces, as well as focusing more on big collaborations with other crews in Seattle. We’ll be announcing some really exciting things very soon, but we can’t divulge too many details right now. 😉 In the words of Ludacris, “Scheme, scheme… Plot, plot.”

5. Is there anything you’d like to say to Spectrum fans & artists?

Oh, wow. SO many things.

First of all, we couldn’t be more thankful to everyone in the dance music community. Not just Seattle, but around the world. The amount of support we’ve received from the scene here and around the world is staggering. People contact us from places like Germany, China, Kentucky, and all over the world to say how badly they wish they could be at Spectrum.

We’re really just thankful to have been accepted into the scene the way we have. We’re pretty young so it’s been amazing to feel like the older generation really has our backs. People like Matt Pressha, Sean Majors and Gene Lee, Ryan Dunn, Steve McDonald, Rian Jones, Jacob MBM, Rob Noble, Dane Wilson, Doug Mcintyre, Jacob Mcdonald…so many others who have paved the way for us in Seattle.

Spectrum and Tom Kha are nothing without our resident DJ’s and supporting locals. The support of our residents and artists like Nofux Gibbons, Tony Goods, Innit, Mike.Ill, Winky Face, Evertrill, and many many others has been crucial.

Extra big shoutout to Molly Brooks. She has been crushing our design game since day one, and our branding would be garbage without her! The consistently high quality of artwork she has brought to the table has been a complete game changer for us.

I wanna throw a special shout-out to my partner in crime, Sasha Dorit-Kendall. We bicker like an old married couple, but we bring a completely different skill set to the Tom Kha equation to make up the moderately functioning business you see before you. *laughs* I couldn’t ask for a better collaborator.

Finally, I want to remind everyone that Spectrum isn’t finished yet. We hope you’ll come celebrate the end of an era with us!