Cotton Mather (band)

Did You Know?

• The band is named after 17th century Puritan preacher and author Cotton Mather, a minister at Boston's North Church.
• The name was suggested by Harrison's brother as a joke while they tried to cheer each other up after their uncle's funeral.
• Harrison, a student of theology, called it the funniest name for a band he had ever heard.

History

Cotton Mather began as an experimental art rock collaboration between Robert Harrison and cellist Nat Shelton. Harrison has jokingly said the duo's music might have convinced people he could have gone to graduate school. The group moved away from avant-garde music after Shelton left Austin in 1991. With Harrison on guitar and vocals, Whit Williams on guitar and backing vocals, Matt Hovis on bass, and Greg Thibeaux on drums, the band recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis and released their debut album Cotton Is King on ELM Records.

After its commercial failure, Hovis and Thibeaux left; Harrison and Williams, occasionally joined by bassist George Reiff and drummers Dana Myzer and Darin Murphy, began work on their second album. Kontiki was recorded mainly on 4-track cassette and ADAT, incorporating found sound and psychedelic experimentation. Harrison considers the three live-band tracks the spine of the record. Brad Jones helped mix and compile the album.

Unsuccessful in America upon its 1997 release, Kontiki was reissued in England in 1999 on Rainbow Quartz, championed by Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis. Recording for the third album, The Big Picture, began in 1998 with Brad Jones producing. The Big Picture was finished by 2000, mixed by Dave Fridmann, and released by Rainbow Quartz in October 2001.