Looking back through the history of XLR8R, it’s hard to believe that Tadd Mullinix was never commissioned to put together a mix for our podcast series. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of enthusiasm on our part; after all, the Michigan producer has been turning out high-quality electronic sounds for more than a decade, primarily as Dabrye and James T. Cotton (a.k.a. JTC). (For the record, he’s also released music under his own name and has been involved with a number of excellent collaborative undertakings, including 2AMFM with D’Marc Cantu and TNT with Todd Osborn. Those looking for a more complete rundown of Mullinix’s history should definitely take a look at this feature we did last year.) This week, Mullinix will be heading north of the border for EM15; the six-day event is something of a new conception, as it combines two long-running Montreal festivals, MUTEK—which is celebrating its 15th anniversary—and Elektra. With Mullinix slated to perform on Saturday afternoon as JTC, the project with which he’s been the most active over the past year or so, we figured that now would be an excellent time to finally extend him that podcast invitation.

JTC is ostensibly Mullinix’s techno moniker, and he more or less sticks to that script here. Moving through 14 tracks in just under 70 minutes, the session is rife with pulsing rhythms and washy synths, yet the music nevers feel hurried. Detroit figures heavily in the proceedings, as many of the selections come from Mullinix’s local peers, and it’s also encouraging to see that he’s not afraid to engage with the Motor City’s younger generation; he even closes out the mix with a collaborative track he made alongside Kyle Hall. On a technical level, the transitions here are generally long, with one track subtly blending into the next, and while the podcast has its bumping moments, the overall pace is steady. After all of these years, Mullinix clearly knows where the dancefloor is located, but at this point, he’s also confident enough to take his time getting there.

01 JTC “My Muddy Melody” (Udek)
02 2AMFM “Midnight Social”
03 D. Wilson & Leron Carson “Other Science” (Sound Signature)
04 Jay Daniel “Royal Dilemma” (Wild Oats)
05 Scott Grooves “Deeply Uncomfortable” (Natural Midi)
06 Jenifa Mayanja “Are You Going with It” (EDJ)
07 Patrice Scott “Untitled” (Sistrum)
08 JTC “Escalator to Sorga” (Bopside)
09 O B Ignitt “Space Age Steppin” (FXHE)
10 Community Corporation “Fall Out” (Crisis Urbana)
11 Omar-S “Surpass” (FXHE)
12 Mike Huckaby “Radiance” (Deep Transportation)
13 Chez Damier “Help Myself” (KMS)
14 KMFHJTC “Exodus”

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