Around the same time that Michigan’s Tadd Mullinix adopted his hip-hop oriented Dabrye alias, he also took on the acid house alias James T. Cotton. With its playful use of female Chinese vocals, the first Cotton single “Mind Your Manners” became an instant favorite of DJs like Traxx, Deecoy, and Carlos Souffront. Not one to be pigeonholed, Cotton’s work became darker with his remix of Charles Manier’s “Bang Bang Lover” and the monolithic EBM monster “I Seek” from the State of the Union EP. What followed was an extended period in Berlin where Cotton really hit his stride. The Buck! and Press Your Body EPs were a definite shock to the system, owing much to the sounds of classic Detroit techno and Belgian New Beat, and paved the way for his hypnotic debut full-length, The Dancing Box. In 2005, Cotton teamed up with D’Marc Cantu to create 2 AM/FM. Cotton is also one half of Saturn V along with Traxx, creating pieces of masterful jakbeat, as well as a member of techno duo TNT with Todd Osborn. Cotton’s Oochie Coo and the LP Like No One continued down the path into darker, more psychedelic territory, delving deeper into Cotton’s mysterious persona.

Recording for Spectral, TNT, Nation, Creme Organization, Udek, Frigio, Minimal Rome, and Relief, collaborating with Todd Osborn, D'marc Cantu and Traxx, and having remixed Orgue Electronique and Depeche Mode - he has received critical acclaim for his raw productions from influentials like Laurent Garnier, Traxx, and Trevor Jackson. In a recent ResidentAdvisor interview, Playgroup's Jackson says, "James T. Cotton is a genius. Everything he does, I pretty much have. He, again, just makes raw sounding records". Mullinix has been DJing professionally since the mid-90s, meanwhile drawing influences from Ron Hardy to Jeff Mills. JTC has been touring the world and also playing regularly in his hometown, Ann Arbor, blending seamlessly, unreleased originals, techno, disco, and everything in-between.

INFLUENCES:
JTC is influenced by the sounds of Larry Heard, Robert Hood, Jeff Mills, Sleezy D, Liaisons Dangereuses, Virgo, Carlos Souffront, D.A.F., Ron Hardy, Traxx, Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Kenny Larkin, the experimental counterpoint basslines of the 303 and similar illusive-accent arpeggiations that were mastered by artists like Larry Heard and Chrislo Haas; the heavy slow tempo of belgian newbeat; acid of the 1990's in Cologne (only the jackingest variety); and interestingly juxtaposed, sometimes non-musical, hypnotic cycle phrases in dance music. The DJ and recording artist, Traxx calls combinations of these elements "the kode". This musical code can be found in many styles of dance and ritual music and is a crucial element in music we like. See the jackingest *cream of the crop* disco, (not)disco, boogie, house, techno, jack tracks, acid, newbeat, italo disco, latin freestyle, electro, new wave, industrial, and cosmic.

http://ghostly.com/artists/james-t-cotton
http://www.myspace.com/jamestcotton