Oxford Stories: New Band Brings Innovative Musical Art To Oxford

Members of the North Mississippi band, The Mother Infinite, have dedicated their lives to create unique and innovative musical art. The group has spent the last 14 months or so writing, recording, and mixing their own songs.
Band members include Dylan Ballard, 22, on guitar and vocals; Graham Burrell, 24, on bass and vocals; Palmer Adams, 22, on guitar; and Lee Adams on drums.
“Limited resources are the real enemy in this scenario, but it makes us use our heads to keep a composition together,” said Ballard. “It’s all a part of learning and growing as a group and [as] musicians.”
Band members are in their final stages of mixing and plan to soon announce an official release. The music is compelling and comparable to psychedelic rock, but the song topics are intended to suggest realism.
“We try to describe life experiences the way that a surrealist painter would try to go about bridging the subjects of dreams and reality,” Burrell said.
Other notable surrealism artists are Bela Bartok, Maurice Ravel, and Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, The Mother Infinite does not directly reference these in their music.
Their biggest influences are Frank Zappa, The Mars Volta, Portugal the Man, Miles Davis and several other authors and directors. If you like these artists, you may enjoy The Mother Infinite.
The Mother Infinite’s music is upbeat and melodic. It expresses musical tension in a classically cathartic way. The melodies are catchy and memorable. “We want to keep the music relatable, but still complex and mysterious,” said Ballard.
The band has an eclectic musical background. Music can sound heavy and gritty, but also light-hearted and upbeat. Even though the band was generally aloof regarding their genre title, they collaborate with each member’s personal music preference.
“We took the styles of music we listen to the most and blended them in a way that feels organic and creative,” said Burrell.
They seem to have good chemistry, which is important in maintaining a productive flow. They continue to progress by constantly updating their equipment in innovative ways. Ballard uses an array of guitar pedals. There is even talk of a second album.
The band had their debut performance at a house show in Oxford on Jan. 29, and it was well-received. “It was a blast,” said Burrell. “We got some feedback and apparently we did pretty well. The Oxford house show circuit seems to really be thriving.”

Unfortunately, they do not have any performance dates lined up, and they are unsure if they will officially go on tour at this point. Once they perform more live shows and release their music, they will be able to get more feedback about how their audience interprets their art and determine their strongest elements.
Ballard responded to a Craiglist ad that Burrell posted seeking musicians to collaborate with. “It had the word ‘psychedelic’ in it, so I had to email him,” said Ballard. “And now he occasionally cleans my room.”
The two met last spring and immediately hit it off. “We want to keep an open perspective on the creative process,” said Ballard.

Self-producing an album can be stressful. “Stress is not always negative,” said Ballard. “Especially when it comes to your goals.”
The band will likely release their first single via bandcamp.com or Facebook.  The band has a message for viewers:
“Thanks for the time to read our rambles, and hopefully if you’ve taken an interest, you’ll listen to our music. We made it for ourselves, but also for you. One day, we’ll all have to drink from the same trans-universal primordial God sea, so be ready to swim.”

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By C. Olivia Sanders. Read more stories like this on Oxford Stories.
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