Ole Miss Graduate Releases Debut Album “Heads Up”

By Talbert Toole
Lifestyles Editor
talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com

Photo courtesy of Peyton Dixon.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Peyton Dixon began his journey at the University of Mississippi nearly seven years ago when he discovered the nutrition program on campus. He now seeks to complete his master’s degree in the same field while also tapping into a long-loved passion—music.

Dixon had an unconventional start to his music career. He and his friends would take videogames like Rockband and Guitar Hero to the next level and use it as a practice for his craft. Eventually, those videogames led to a real guitar.

After taking time to familiarize himself with the instrument, Dixon began to play melodies and create lyrics.

“[Songwriting] is a great way to solve problems in my head,” Dixon said.

Dixon said songwriting allows him to consolidate his thoughts and work through various problems. The instrument of composing songs allows Dixon not only to express himself but allows the young musician to connect with those who might be dealing with the same problems or situations.

Now, after composing 10 unique songs, Dixon has finally released his debut album, “Heads Up.” The inspiration for his first single, “Mom”, which dropped last Tuesday, came from idealistic relationships that one imagines bringing a significant other home to meet mom.

“Heads Up” is now available on all major streaming services (Spotify, iTunes and Amazon Music.) Album cover by Peyton Dixon.

Another song Dixon released prior to the album is “Catch and Release.” He said the song describes his struggles from the day-to-day challenges of dating throughout his tenure as an undergraduate.

“[Meaningless] relationships just hollow you out,” he said. “I’m tired of synthetic love, and after a while, that is what it feels like.”

The entire album has a collective theme of different stages of relationships, Dixon said, which trickles down to finding out who you are as a person.

The process of recording the album began when Dixon worked with a close counterpart in Southaven; however, he ended up working with a friend in Oxford who has a recording studio named Carbon Studios that’s located in Cleveland, Mississippi.

Dixon worked with Carbon Studio owners Will Gadow and Taylor Treece. He was originally only going to record four songs, but after playing through all 10 songs for Gadow, Dixon said the studio owner wanted to record all 10 songs.

“I said let’s pull the trigger and do it,” Dixon said.

Now that the album is available on major streaming networks (Spotify, iTunes and Amazon Music), Dixon hopes fellow listeners will be able to connect with the overall message of the album.

Although music is a hobby, Dixon hopes he will always be able to be in a place to write, record and perform, he said.