Cotton Mather is an American rock band from Austin, Texas, founded in 1990 by Robert Harrison and Nat Shelton. The group started as an experimental duo featuring Harrison on guitar and Shelton on cello before evolving into a four-piece rock ensemble with a sound centered around guitars and vocal harmonies. Their debut album, Cotton Is King, was released in 1994. The band's third album, Kontiki (1997), showcased elements of found sound and psychedelic experimentation. It gained significant attention when reissued in England in 1999 by Rainbow Quartz label, championed by Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher of Oasis. In 2001, the band released The Big Picture, which was mixed by producer Dave Fridmann. The group went on hiatus in 2003 due to personal setbacks and label issues, but reunited in 2012 with a reissue of Kontiki featuring bonus outtakes.
