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Podcast Notes: Broken Record - Infinity Song: Live From Tribeca Festival
Episode Summary In this episode of *Broken Record*, hosts Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, and Justin Richmond engage with the sibling group Infinity Song—Momo, Abraham, Angel, and Israel Boyd—who share their journey in music, family dynamics, and their unique blend of R&B and folk, which they describe as modern-day soft rock. The episode features conversations that delve into their early musical influences, pivotal career moments, and a live performance of songs from their album *Metamorphosis Complete*.
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Key Themes
The Importance of Family in Music
- Family Bands Legacy: The episode discusses the strong tradition of family bands in music history, highlighting examples such as Sly and the Family Stone, The Beach Boys, and The Jacksons.
- Homegrown Musical Development: The Boyd siblings grew up in a musical household in Detroit and New York, honing their craft in various settings including church and home.
Musical Journey
- Guidance and Support: Their father, John Boyd, acts as their manager and has played a crucial role in their musical development.
- Signing with Roc Nation: The conversation touches on their relationship with Jay-Z and Roc Nation, emphasizing the trust and creative freedom they were afforded.
Genre Exploration
- Evolution of Sound: Initially rooted in R&B, Infinity Song transitioned towards a soft rock sound that allows each member to showcase their individual strengths while maintaining a cohesive group identity.
- Cultural Context: The group discusses the broader conversation around genres and cultural appropriation in music, asserting that music ultimately belongs to everyone once it is released to the public.
Performance and Creativity
- Live Performance: The episode includes live performances of their songs, showcasing their energy and chemistry as a group.
- Writing Process: The siblings explain their collaborative writing process, emphasizing the importance of writing for the group rather than for individual gains.
Personal Stories
- Pivotal Moments: The siblings reflect on key experiences, such as their father's impressive pitch to Jay-Z, which led to their signing with Roc Nation.
- Individual Influences: Each member shares their musical influences and growth, highlighting how their upbringing shaped their artistic identities.
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Key Takeaways
- Musical Chemistry: The Boyd siblings’ close familial ties have fostered a unique musical chemistry that enhances their performances and songwriting.
- Creative Freedom: Jay-Z's encouragement for them to "wait for us to catch up to you" exemplifies the supportive environment they've cultivated, which allows for artistic exploration without pressure to conform to commercial norms.
- Cultural Reflections: Their discussion illustrates the evolving nature of musical genres and the importance of understanding the historical context behind them.
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Live Performances
- Songs Featured:
- "Lotus"
- "Metamorphosis" from their album *Metamorphosis Complete*
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Conclusion The episode encapsulates the essence of Infinity Song's journey as a family unit in music. Their story not only highlights the importance of familial support in the arts but also addresses larger themes of cultural heritage, genre fluidity, and the personal growth of each artist. Through their performances and discussions, the Boyd siblings bring a heartfelt perspective on what it means to create music that resonates deeply both within themselves and with their audience.
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Additional Resources
- Playlist: [Listen to Infinity Song's music](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6i55QVtrErzBSpvzZ1Ovff?si=d4bb640e44ed4c75)
- Fall Playlist: [Spotify Fall Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4znf4RUePqBpy8n1gFsD04?si=odXfaT4LRD2PDAi2SDeSpQ&pi=Rb-vA4c_TceW5&pt=e23cfd04056cb1a8c38dd385012428e5)
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Podcast Details
- Title: Broken Record
- Hosts: Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, Justin Richmond
- Production: Pushkin Industries, iHeartMedia
This episode is a testament to the profound connections that music can create, both within families and across cultures.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:06Pushkin.
0:10It's my firm belief that our culture doesn't put enough stock in family bands. I mean, just think about the groups that include siblings. Sly and the Family Stone, the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, Haim, Oasis, ACDC, the Jacksons. It makes sense that Kin would develop uniquely powerful musical chemistry. After all, a love of music usually does start in the home. And the same is true of our guests today, Momo, Abraham, Angel, and Israel Boyd of the group Infinity Saw. The four siblings were raised in musical households between Detroit and New York, honing their sound wherever they could. in churches, in parks, subway stations, even around the kitchen table.
0:50That devotion to performing carried them to bigger stages, guided by their father and manager John Boyd and eventually Jay-Z's Rock Nation. And their fervent love of music fuels their unmistakable blend of R &B and folk, a mix they proudly describe as modern-day soft rock. I spoke to the Boyd siblings at the Tribeca Festival in New York for a live Broken Record event. We discussed the role of music in their family, how their dad came through on the clutch during a make-or-break meeting with Jay-Z, and graciously they performed a couple of songs from their album, Metamorphosis Complete. This is Broken Record.
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3:34Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank and a member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Terms apply. Infinity Song opened our conversation with a performance of their song, Lotus. It's so great to be here with you guys and to be here with Infinity Song at Tribeca Festival of all places. It's a storied festival, and I think we're here tonight with talent that will be held in that regard. This is a new group, and they already have such incredible music. As you'll see tonight, their live show, and this is stripped down, is phenomenal. So without further ado, Israel, Angel, Abraham, and Momo, Infinity Song.
4:55Thank you.
5:33guitar solo
5:57Swept up in your seat Hiding in the waves They start to crash on me Your lotus flower, you may be weak Everything I see and I still wanna eat and eat But now I know What a fool I've been Baby, please Don't make me wise again The ignorance is bliss Just let me fall for you Cause now I take the lies to save my innocence
6:59Longing for love
7:05I settle for a kiss We'll call it what you want Cause I still crave your lips You're a lotus flower, you make me weep Everything I see and I still wanna eat and eat But now I know what a fool I've been Baby, please don't make me wise again The ignorance is bliss Just let me fall for it Cause I would take the lies To save my innocence So if I lose myself to love Then life's just fine And if your love is just a lie Baby, tell me lies But don't you let me lie I drew me in just to break me down Oh, don't you dare Crossed me freedom Let me go But now I know What a fool I've been Baby, please Don't make me wise again The ignorance is bliss Just let me fall for it Cause I would take the lies To save my innocence My innocence My innocence I would take the lies To save my innocence The ignorance is bliss Just let me fall for it Cause I would take the lies To save my innocence
9:43Thank you so much. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, we are Infinity Song. My name is Abraham. My name is Momo. Hey, I'm Angel. And I'm Ettero. And we've got one more song for you before we get into the evening. Yeah, let's go.
10:15guitar solo
10:40It's only right that you should play the way you feel it But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness Like a heartbeat just humid And the stillness are remembering what you had And what you lost You were dead And was your eyes Thought I'd know it had a pinch with rain They were wrestling with all you in their play They say you will and you will come and you will go When the rain washes you clean You'll know You'll know Now here I go Can I see the crystal visions I keep my visions to myself It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams Have you any dreams you'd like to sell? Dreams of loneliness like the heartbeat driving in In the stillness of remembering what to end And what you lost And what you had And what you loved Thunder on the earth And the branch was waiting Because I love you And I've played And say women, they will come and they will go When the rain washes you clean, you'll know You'll know You will know And what you had And what you lost Do what you had Do what you lost Do what you had Do what you had What you love
14:13Oh, what you had, oh, what you had Oh, what you had
14:27What you had What do you have?
15:05Would you? Would you?
15:29I gotta say, through this job, I've been privileged to be around a lot of performers. Babyface comes to mind, seeing him perform up close and personal. Neil Young, right? But this is my first time getting a chance to see you guys and just getting to see the love of music that you guys have and the passion you guys have for performing. It warms my heart because it's something that I see a lot in an older generation, but I don't always see the love of performance. And I don't always see that passion flowing through people. When you guys perform, it's evident that there was probably nothing else you guys could have done but be musicians do you do you feel like there's anything else you guys i mean this seems like what you were born to do oh well i guess that's a loaded question in the sense well first of all thank you for having us we we've we've had many conversations since being here but this is for you guys so thank you justin for having us we are so appreciative have the privilege to have this conversation so our parents raised us i think to be able to do anything um that was a mindset in our family but so they raised us to to pursue excellence and to pursue being well-rounded people and with integrity and character but music was the um tool that was used to develop that in us so i probably could not be anything but a singer only by choice i could be more but it's it just wouldn't work for me but that everybody has their own answer yeah i would say performance is definitely like one of the loves of our lives we've been performing for so long.
17:29It's really funny. Some people who have seen us perform more than once know that usually on Dreams, we actually come back in. What? Did I ruin it? Did I come up too soon? We should have warned you. I should have come earlier in the week and gone to the blue note. I messed up. So we do like, we fake end it, you know, build the tension and then we come back in. Guys, let me go walk off this stage. I failed already. I have failed everyone here. I have failed you guys and myself. She just wanted to say that. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. You know, if you still want us to come back in, we can.
18:14Bring it back. Bring it back. Bring it back. Don't. So serious. I wanted to come back in. Don't go on it. No, no, no, you got to, no, you got to, you got to, this is a part of the conversation.
18:57It's that you had and you lost You had and you lost You had and you lost You had
19:16What you had What you lost And what you ate And what you lost
19:36What you ate What you lost What you ate What you lost What you ate What you lost What you ate What you lost Oh yeah
20:24Yeah, yeah, yeah
20:35Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na What you have, what you lost
20:52Weren't you lost Weren't you lost Weren't you lost Oh,
21:10thunder only happens When it's raining
21:21Players only love you When they're playing They say, well, they will come And they will go home
21:52When the rain washes you Clean your nose
22:09You'll know
22:15You will know
22:23Okay. Okay.
22:30Okay, so now, could we have been anything else? Let's see. No, hold on. That was worth the public shaming. That was wonderful. No shaming. Just public informing. It was a wonderful PSA. I'm so glad you brought that to my attention. Yes, but back to the... I mean, come on. There's no way you guys were born to do this. Did you hear that? Unbelievable.
22:57But loaded question, leading question. You guys probably have your own thoughts. you know i i mean obviously there's like you can get into a lot of philosophy and all that but i would say yeah we were you know we were born to do this this cover of dreams is beautiful thank you you know and it's not something that would have been um not even that long ago it would have been shocking to see you know four black siblings just killing dreams by fleetwood Mac, you know, like, cause that's in the territory of classic rock and. You know, there's so much that could be said. I mean, it, it, it really isn't novelty to us on that, on that side.
23:38It, it's, it's real and it's organic to us. It's music that we enjoy. And most importantly is music that we can all come together around. A song is a song and a song. sure different cultures contribute songs to the world and your different cultures contribute perspectives to the world but once it leaves and is released to the world it belongs to the world quite frankly and so you know unless you're going to block the dissemination of the of the creative it's like i like that song i want to sing it that's that's what it is super cool about music and we're starting to see it you know boundaries and different cultural and ethnic uh backgrounds the way hip-hop really got like the biggest consumers of say hip-hop suddenly are not are not who created hip-hop or not it's it's just changed the way that it's shit like blue it happened to blues music at a certain point it's just like okay suddenly it's for the world yes And it's kind of nice.
24:50Yeah. It's a really beautiful way of putting it, that music and music is for the world. And that was the for so many years, the issue with putting music in a genre and essentially in a box and done by a marketing team to market to a certain audience. You know, and it's like, it doesn't even matter. It doesn't matter. Everyone likes the same stuff. Everyone likes the same stuff. Who doesn't like Dolly Parton? Who doesn't like Beyonce? Who doesn't like Whitney? You know, it's like, come on. Yeah. Okay. Yes. I will. Music is for the world. Music is great. But there's still very much an ongoing conversation about genre and about who's allowed to sing this genre or that genre.
25:32I think specifically, I think Cowboy Carter is a great example of, you know, a woman who grew up in Texas, who really identifies with country roots and has so much, so much, so much, so much to say in this sphere, but then wasn't necessarily embraced, you know, because she hasn't been doing that like full out for years. and I you know that's one group though that's not accepted so to be clear I think genre is valuable and I think building a culture is valuable so I don't really have too crazy of a problem with gatekeeping a culture because if you build a culture and it becomes potent and important to the world i think you can be protective of it i think the challenge is and my thinking is uh let's not be controversial this this conversation i think the challenge is that it's not equal meaning the guardianship of genres is not equal of course and uh the beneficiaries of genres are not i don't want to go too no you're right no you're right but one thing i will say is that specifically you know america is a very um particular place you are so politic
27:11um let's wrap it up okay but but a lot of the genres the roots of them you know these genres did not just pop up out of nowhere in the last 50 years you know and then i think where the problem lies is when people forget or they're not educated and they and and by the way it's not only like if we're talking strictly white and black it's not only white people who will look at us or you know someone black and say like oh you shouldn't be doing country you shouldn't be doing rock a lot of times we'll say that to ourselves not us but you know black people will say that to ourselves because there just is like a lack of education on just how the foundation of these genres came to be you know and so i think overall we just don't know the history of things which is why cowboy carter is so cool because now we're getting into the nitty gritty now we're saying now we're seeing like with the backlash it forces all of us to to study to read to learn to look past the past like 25 50 years and look really look into like the origins of these things where did the genre come from right and then so it then opens up the conversation for all of us to feel at home here instead of it being like one person one group of people it's like no the the evolution of this genre was actually very integrated yeah it's a lot of people coming together and just trying to make something good yeah you know and so when you kind of are forced to look back into the history of things i think that's when change is made and you know we can move forward because because if we're if we're listening to like okay granted i'm 26 but if we're listening to 20 year olds they're only gonna know what's you know what's been put in front of their face over the past like 10 15 years if they haven't actively gone and looked and studied so we've got to really and the people who are leading the conversations a lot of times on the internet are 20 year olds so yes you know so it's just very very very you know it's very layered naturally that's why a group like you guys is so important it's so beautiful you know and i grew up playing guitar and it was like it was like you know i wasn't a rock band you know people be like yo what the i'm like well yeah i like i like you know what i saw hendrix i was like i want to be i grew my hair out i was like i want to be hendrix you know i didn't turn out to be hendrix you're closer to him than me it's real but you know it's like there's there really shouldn't be limitations put on us again not to get we can move out of the controversial it shouldn't be that controversial but I think it's like a minefield because one of these sidebars you could really say something crazy I just want to ask have you guys met Beyonce yeah we have we didn't sign an NDA so yeah we can talk about it wow a few times just casually casually there's no such thing as meeting Beyonce Target.
30:24She had her hoodie on. No, there's no such thing as meeting Beyonce casually. I just mean it wasn't under the, like, you know, under, like, a work environment, so we didn't have to sign anything. Okay, okay. Well, I mean, yeah, for context, you guys are signed to Roc Nation, which is Jay-Z's label, which is why I asked if you guys have met Beyonce, because it's an affiliation. Did you guys play her any music? Had she heard it? We didn't play her music, but I believe that we have heard that she has heard our music. But yeah, it's just an honor always to meet such an icon and a legend. Always been very gracious to us as well.
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31:05And so, yeah, we love her. Big fans of her on and off the stage. Yeah, she's really nice. And she always points at our eyebrows because we, like Israel has a very strong example of this. But in our, I don't know, in our genes, we have like an eyebrow flick or something. And I think she has the same thing. And like in her childhood pictures, you can see she has one eyebrow that goes really up. So she'll like, the eyebrows, the eyebrows, them. Now, always, it might be a stretch, but. Well, the few times we've met her, she has been very excited to see that we have that in common. She's like, my cousins.
31:48I'm like, yes, please, thank you. Yeah, I would die to have some connection. Some sort of connection. No matter how thin to Beyonce's family line. This message is brought to you by Starbucks. It's the best time of the year. The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks. The return of the PSL marks the unofficial start of the fall season. And thinking back to when I used to work at a Starbucks cafe, I can remember the excitement that came with the return of the beloved classic. The Starbucks pumpkin spice latte is handcrafted with Starbucks signature espresso, steamed milk, and real pumpkin, then topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices for an indulgent taste of fall.
32:30And it's available as a hot or iced drink, perfect for whatever you're craving this season. The Starbucks PSL is my signal that fall is here. There's something about the bright notes of real pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The flavors are so rich and vibrant, like they bottled the best parts of the season. From the very first sip, it feels like fall has arrived, no matter the weather outside. And the return of fall also reminds me of fall playlists, songs layered with rich vocals, acoustic textures, and a hint of nostalgia. And just like how we all have favorite tracks for the summer, there are some songs that just feel like fall.
33:06So to help me celebrate the return of the Starbucks PSL and the start of the fall season, I'm joined by Broken Record co-host Leah Rose to build a fall playlist with some of our favorites. Leah, thanks for joining me. Thank you, Justin. I'm so excited to build this playlist. First song I thought to add to this was Villain by Anastasia, an artist who just had on Broken Record. Her new album, Tether, is incredible. And for me, when I think about a fall song, I don't think there's much daylight between what a fall song is and the song that you might play. If you wake up before everyone else in your house, 545 a.m., 6 a.m., and put on a pot of coffee, Starbucks roast, of course.
33:45And then you sit at your kitchen table and just watch that mist clear, watch that sun come up fully. And you sit in there in your house in the morning in peace. Like, whatever that feeling is that happens when you do that, like, that's what this song feels like to me. So that would be my first pick to start us off here. Yes, I feel that so deeply. And I feel like Anastasia especially, you mentioned fall songs having rich vocals. And she has just like such deeply rich vocals. Absolutely. Leah, what would you add? My first pick would be Simon and Garfunkel's America. Oh my gosh. There's something about this song.
34:25It's just like so grand and sweeping and, you know, thinking about possibility and potential. And I feel like for some reason it suits fall. It fits that. It fits that mode. Yeah, it does. A question I find myself asking when fall hits, like, where does the time go, you know? Yeah. And so I felt like a really natural pick for a playlist like this was Fairport Convention, and who knows where the time goes, which is also just beautiful, beautiful song. It's a fall morning for me. Yeah. Sometimes, especially fall mornings, especially if you have a PSL in hand, you get a little hop to your step. You might leave the house, go on a nice, brisk, crisp walk.
35:10A song that I would put on for that moment would be Tom Petty's Time to Move On. Yeah, that's a walking rhythm right there. Yeah. That's a pick-me-up walking rhythm. Yeah, there's something about the tone of Tom Petty's voice, too, that somehow plays into the fall theme. It's hard to explain, but I hear it. Yeah, well, it feels very familiar and it feels very warm. You know, Tom has such a warm voice and the songwriting is just, you know, unbelievable, of course. I'm going to add Junior Varsity across the street to this list because even though this song is much more upbeat than the other songs I've picked so far, So it has, I don't know, it's like maybe it's that almost cheerleader chant one of the singers does on this song, but it reminds me of like a back to school moment.
35:56Yeah, I think it's good to include some of the upbeat songs, too, because for fall, it's really easy to get stuck in like the cozy, nostalgic, almost kind of down tempo songs. But there is a feeling of like, all right, we got to get going. We're back. Yeah. Maybe it's the back to school. There is an upbeat. Fall isn't all slow and languid. Like it can be, it can be fast. It can also be very moody and kind of vibey. So my next pick is Hermanos Gutierrez, Low Sun. Oh, my boys. I love these guys. So beautiful. Yeah. The way these guys play, they play with such feeling and that just gets transmitted right through the record.
36:36Like, I love it. And this is a more contemplative song. So if you're in the fall mood where you just sort of want to sit and you want to just sort of think about where you're going, what you want to do. This is an incredible song for that too. And it's an instrumental. So you know what, I'm going to pick an instrumental. This is from the album We Three, from the drummer Roy Haynes, pianist Phineas Newborn Jr., and bass player Paul Chambers, three classic, classic, incredible jazz musicians. I'll pick the song Reflection from the We Three album. There's just like a crispness to this song, and there's like a crispness to Roy Haynes playing.
37:14I mean, they used to call him Snap Crackle because it's just that the way he would just hit that snare and hit the ride and the hi-hat. So that song feels like a crisp fall day to me. Plus, you know, got to have some jazz representation on the playlist. Yeah. Okay, so my next pick, it's a little bit different. Crosby, Stills & Nash, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes. Oh, one of the great songs of all time. I love that song. Come on. Oh, this song. Again, I don't know what it is. It's hard to describe, but something about like the reflection talking about I am lonely. It's so beautiful. And it has those acoustic tones.
37:48It has all the things that you were talking about. It has the beautiful harmonies, has the vintage feel. It's a perfect song. Okay. Okay. So, you know what? I'm going to round out my portion of the list. I'll let you have the last pick, Leah. But I'll round out my portion of this list with this great young, newish Australian artist, Grace Cummins, with the song The Look You Gave. It's unbelievable. The vocal's incredible. Songwriting's amazing. You know, it doesn't have the patina on it that like a Sweet Judy Blue Eyes does, but in my view, it's equally undeniable. Yeah, her voice is just so magnetic.
38:24It just pulls you in. All right, Leah, I'll let you round this out. I'll let you take us home. Okay, my final pick. I'm going to stick with the Laurel Canyon scene. I'm going to go with Joni Mitchell from Blue, A Case of You. Oh, yeah, man. Blue, this song, but Blue in general. Come on, that's the consummate fall album. Oh, just the songwriting is just unmatched. It's just so gorgeous. Well, we've bookended this playlist with two great singer-songwriters, Anastasia, Joni Mitchell, incredible voices on the two of them. Yeah, for sure. I'm going to be listening to this all throughout fall. I'll be listening to them too.
39:06If you haven't heard some of these songs, add them to your queue. We'll drop the full playlist in this episode's show notes so you can sip on your PSL and enjoy a soundtrack for the season. Hot or iced, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is available now at Starbucks for a limited time. Grab one, throw on your headphones, and let the season begin. It isn't fall without the PSL. The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, get it while it's hot or iced. you know rock nation is such a cool group there's so many great and cool artists under i just interviewed bootsie collins like last week and they just picked up like bootsie collins you're like what like what in the world like it's such a wonderful collection of artists what's it like being heralded by someone like jay-z you know because like it's an honor but it also could be like heavy i'd imagine right like one thing that it has not been is heavy I do have to say that because when we signed, we signed roughly almost, we signed nine years ago as a family.
40:07It was a joint venture between our family's company and Roc Nation. And there was really a connection between him and our dad that set the relationship off to a really, really good start. And there was an understanding there. I can't really speak to it crazy, because I think it was like a relationship man to man, and sure, we were there, but there was a trust there. So it's been very free for us as a group. So we switched genres. We were doing more R &B leaning, and then we walked into the label one day and said, we're doing soft rock now how does that how does that go can you imagine the freedom that you have to have to be able to do that and early on in the relationship one of the meetings uh jay-z he gave us permission and empowered us to run our own race he said the words don't try to catch up to us wait for us to catch up to you and so that that was very empowering and it set the tone for the relationship i'm not going to say that um we've never you know disagreed on anything within the label because that just wouldn't be honest don't be controversial abraham no no no what i'm saying is it it's been a great relationship it worked out really really well so you have to put i mean that's cool it's a record label meaning you have to kind of set the tone in some way and you were given permission by exactly you know that's just incredible and that's what i that's why i said of course we've disagreed and he said that in the meeting he's like we will disagree on some things but he said do not try to catch it i want to frame it in a way that just because you're given permission does not mean that you don't have challenges that that's more my thinking in the framing yeah the change from r &b to soft rock how does that happen how does that transpire within the group like what make what made you guys gravitate towards that kind of music?
42:15It's something that kind of happened organically. It's really hard to, when you're trying to figure out how to position yourself or market yourself, I think you can get really in your head about what's the right move. For me, it just so happened that I was in a space where I wanted to keep doing things in life that felt good. We were posting covers online of songs and dreams by fleetwood mac was one of these covers that we posted went viral was just a huge you know our arrangement of it was so singular and so when we put it online like everybody loved it and we moved on we did other covers a few months goes by and there was something about the way that we performed that song and arranged that song i just remember us before ever posting it, like coming up with that like end tag in the back room of our house where we rehearse.
43:15Like I just remember us wanting to sing it over and over and over again. And being completely honest when you're working with your siblings, that doesn't happen every day. It's more so like you want to stop singing as soon as possible and move on. So fast forward, like, okay, thinking about the future of the band, like if I wanted this to feel like something every day, it would be that moment. So that's how I kind of framed it in my mind. And I was thinking about it. I was like, maybe we need to sing more of that kind of style of music. And I just presented the idea to everyone else after thinking about it for a long time.
43:53I was like, actually, as a collective, I think soft rock really does represent us because it's a genre where we can each collectively like play to our strengths all at the same time it's not one person's you know in their sweet spot and the other people are like struggling or whatever it's like equally across the board able to highlight us as both a group and individuals at the same time so everyone kind of was like oh yeah that makes sense i would also say when we did sign to rock Nation, we didn't really, we didn't necessarily sign with a genre picked out, you know? We like kind of, I don't want to say we auditioned for Jay-Z, but we did perform on the top floor for him in the office.
44:42And it looked something like this with a guitar and us just singing. Like we didn't - You with the guitar? No, no. Victory was playing the guitar and then we were all singing. So it wasn't like we came in with five songs ready to be played that are in the studio and they're leaning towards a genre like there was no genre picked out for us but he more so saw the vision of us and he saw similarities between our story and his story and you know he sold his cds out the back of his truck and we would sell cds when we were growing up like our dad would have us in the studio just working on old songs like hymns and gospel songs, but also songs that he had written or we'd written together.
45:29And we would sell those. We would sell them to people on the street. Like, hey, want to buy our music? And so that kind of foundational drive, I think more is what he signed us for. So when we did start getting in the studio and making music commercially, I think it was more of a, maybe a self-imposed pressure to do what felt like it could be commercially viable. Like he never told us like, you got to do R &B. But, you know, trying to find your legs and trying to find out like, okay, it's just a part of the process. You go through different genres, you go through different things until you kind of return home or you kind of return back to what you've always done, which is melding our voices together in sweet harmonic ways and writing very honest and truthful lyrics and finding a place, like Angel said, finding a place for us all to shine.
46:30So we were never told to be R &B or pop. It was just kind of part of the process until we landed to something that felt so natural. It's amazing. Wait, very quickly. There's one aspect of this story that I feel like I need to tell because people don't know it. So this might be the first time I'm telling this story. So key fact, our dad, he somehow got, I don't remember how it happened, but he got in contact with Jay-Z and he sent him an email. I don't know how it happened, but we ended up in the office and our dad had a pitch. he was going to pitch the family to Jay-Z. He brought a deck, a whole deck, spent I don't know how many days building this deck.
47:22And so we get in the room. It's just, it's our family. It's Jay and it's Ty-Ty and now someone else is there and it's our family. And he starts going through the deck line by line by line by line by line. And the presentation probably took 20 minutes or something. And he was nervous for sure. I don't know. I would have to ask him how he felt. But I anticipate he was nervous. By the time he got done through the deck, the next thing we were being offered was a record deal. Like, it was instant. it's hard to put into as we're talking about this relationship and the nine years and the work and all of that stuff and our story and our history it's pretty crazy and pretty admirable and it's just a byproduct of what we keep in mind as we continue forward like I'll never forget that deck I feel like you should teach a master class We didn't bring that deck out.
48:30That's not, I don't need the secret. I just made the connection. Okay, yeah, Father's Day is on Sundays. So happy Father's Day, Daddy. Great occasion to honor our father. Mr. Boy.
48:44After one last break, we'll be back with the rest of my conversation with Infinity Song from the Tribeca Festival. In today's super competitive business environment, the edge goes to those who push harder, move faster, and level up every tool in their arsenal. T-Mobile knows all about that. They're now the best network, according to the experts at Oocla Speedtest, and they're using that network to launch Supermobile, the first and only business plan to combine intelligent performance, built-in security, and seamless satellite coverage. With Supermobile, your performance, security, and coverage are supercharged.
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52:18Our listeners get 10 % off their first month at BetterHelp.com slash broken. That's BetterHelp.com slash broken. You said, Abraham, that when you guys were raised, and by the way, Hometown Band was announced at the top, New York. Yes, New York. New York by way of Detroit. Yes. I just want to make that clear because Detroit is one of the great American cities, produced some of the great American vocalists. And you guys in some way are in that tradition and some others as well. But it's just but you were raised in Detroit and you partially and you said that your dad used music as an instrument to teach you guys all kinds of things.
52:58Yeah, he's here, by the way. It's right there. Mr. Boyd.
53:06And he used it growing up, but it's also something that he still uses to kind of mentor us and teach us. He's our manager as well. So it's been a tool since childhood, and it's something that is still a tool of learning for us as a family. So Detroit gave us our talent. New York gave us our dreams. And that's often the story. usually it's hard to break through in the midwest the south has figured it out but the midwest is not so that's our story as well yeah yeah yeah i just want to make clear so four siblings are here but how many total were in the house growing up there are nine of us in in total yeah yeah that's a job well done dad as a dad myself i'm i can only hope to wait how many do you have two and one on the way so oh when when when is the new one september oh yeah yeah yeah it's close i'm i'm a stressful summer this is it's so in so many ways but yeah i could only oh i mean without pushing music on my kids i'm hope i try to keep the house musical and similarly i hope i'm trying to use music as a way to teach my kids not that they'll be musicians but just to teach them that you mentioned integrity you can learn so much about integrity and character through music and through having a love of music because it really connects you to humanity and the people around you was you guys in a musical house was it what was the how or how was it musical it was clearly musical but how was it musical it was musical in the small ways and the big ways so like waking my dad waking us up by blasting music through the speakers or by just singing really loudly we're just singing really loudly or um every day gathering around the table and he's beating on the table using the table as a drum and he has us improvising on the spot I remember being so young when my older siblings would jump in and be able to make up words and make up melodies and I was like will I ever be able to improvise like that you know so it was just a household of adapting learning on the spot being able to be creative and think outside of the box a little bit I think that's when I when you're young you don't really understand all the lessons that you're being taught you know and a lot of people use so many mediums to teach their kids.
55:51They're sports families. They're like film fam. There are so many different ways to teach your kids these fundamental life lessons. But I think music being our dad's, our parents' way was so powerful because that's what you need. You need a spirit of creativity. You need to be able to think on your feet. You need to be able to deliver a riveting performance in other ways, in other areas of life and, you know, win people over and speak people's language from heart to heart and unite people. You know, there's so many lessons that music teaches us that you only start to realize when you get a little bit older.
56:33I imagine the church as well had to do that for you guys, right? So for us growing up, we were exposed to a lot of music, but we were not exposed to all music growing up so what that means is uh we grew up really uh steeped in gospel music classical music and jazz and then fourth it was soul but it wasn't like all soul it was like marvin gay and um earth wind and fire and like ron eisley it was a limited list it wasn't premium it wasn't everybody and so and it i think it was by design those were really foundational genres that taught us music our dad being a choir director having multiple choirs back in detroit choral music was was key to our foundation so we really didn't get into pop music until teenage years which is funny because now we do pop me i don't know well how does that happen how how do you guys go from you know if the order of operations musically in the home was gospel classical jazz and a smattering of top shelf soul then how do you guys go from that's your diet to when you guys are performing becoming more of a pop group i would say also a big part of it is that we all grew up obviously informed by the same, you know, root, but we all took different things.
58:19We're all different branches of the same tree. So, you know, Momo or Abraham or Angel or whoever might gravitate more towards one thing and then I might gravitate more towards another thing. And I think over time that just, that shaped us. You're hearing kind of an amalgamation, you know like i remember growing up on gospel and classical and jazz but i didn't actually like i didn't understand music for myself or even really listen to music until i was 16 or 17 so there was like when i was a child and i would hear gospel or classical and jazz in the house and i i loved especially like an artist my dad would play pat matthini um was really big fan of him I was around 13, maybe 14.
59:05We were doing an interview and somebody asked, who are your favorite artists? And I had no idea because I understood music. I had not discovered it for myself. So I was like Michael Jackson and I don't know. I like these genres. And then as I got older personally, it wasn't so much discovering what I like more so. it was like putting faces to the things I already knew I liked since I was a child. So I remember, I don't know if we're supposed to say his name anymore, but Kanye. I remember the first time I listened to him, I was like, oh, this puts a, I think the first song I heard was Blood on the Leaves.
59:48And I was like, this sounds like, you know, it was almost rock, you know, the way he, the spirit with which he, you know, wrote that music. and um but that's just one example then you have just you know over time just musicians that that I personally gravitated towards that just uncovered what I like and and all that I think that's kind of the thing for all of us the way the way we developed as a unit was that we all obviously have the same foundation but we all are very unique and infinity song does not sound like any one of us it sounds like the collection of us truly so that's how we get to this it's like well what do you like what do you like what do you like and then it it comes to this kind of home is that part of the writing process too like um someone brings an idea and then each person teases out what their part is or do you does someone come with a fully formed idea like i I believe you wrote Pink Sky, right?
1:00:51Yeah, usually it's someone, sometimes we write together, but actually we usually write separately. But I think that even in our separate writings, I think we all take into account the ear and the temperament of the other performers because, you know, we're not performing it ourselves. So when I write or when Angel writes or whoever writes, we just write for the group, not for ourselves, because that's a whole different thing, different temperament, different everything. Yeah. And you guys had at one point another sister in the group, Victory, and she did some of the writing too. So I imagine, and do you guys still work with her and are you guys writing with her on any level?
1:01:31We look forward to. I think that, I mean, that's our sister. So there's always an opportunity to collaborate, always an opportunity to work together, write together. When she went solo, I think there was a real desire for her to build her own sound. and also we had to do a lot of work because Victory is a founding member of Infinity Song and our sound was very much rooted in her musical paradigm when she was in the band. And so we actually had to relearn how we do music when she went solo and that was a blessing but it was also extremely challenging in terms of just the anatomy of what do we sound like now?
1:02:21going from losing 20 % of the band and then also like 50 % of the creative DNA. That was very challenging. Until you could learn to, of course, reconfigure the creative process and supplement the 50 and become your own and find, right? Like I imagine you guys now as a foursome are finding your path creatively. Like Metamorphosis Complete is such a wonderful project. and American Love Song is a new song that came out. It's an incredible, really well-written, beautiful song. So yeah, it seems like you guys are without victory. It would be like Earth, Wind & Fire, finding their way without Maurice or something.
1:03:06You guys are figuring it out. Oh, absolutely. I think so. Metamorphosis Complete was completely written by us four, completely written and produced by us four. and at this point it is exactly like 25 25 25 25 yeah it was a hard year to be clear it was one year where we were trying to figure it out and then thank god we came out with better music than we've ever created together so it's it's quite remarkable yeah i would agree for you momo how What was your sort of trajectory through discovering guitar and finding your voice? So obviously the foundation that we've already disclosed, like growing up in the household that I did, learning so much from my dad.
1:03:57But then as Israel pointed out, once each of us reached a certain age in adolescence, you kind of have an awakening. like okay what do I really want to do how do I really want to sound and I remember being about 11 or 12 or something and the biggest woman singer influence that I had was victory actually funnily enough and I remember thinking she has the best voice I've ever heard I want to sound just like her and you know i would just watch her warming up watch her performing and i would be like okay if i can sound like her i will be very happy and that was my only goal how do i sound like her like when people cite their influences and like they say like oh i i learned this from lauren hill and i learned that from she's one of my initial influences you know um lauren no victory also Lauren you said Lauren and I started thinking about Unplugged and the guitar no absolutely I was gonna get to her next because absolutely huge the Unplugged album actually changed my life also Donny Hathaway just excellent in every way Nina Simone as well just excellent at what she does but so unique same for Ella Fitzgerald like I love vocalists that they aren't necessarily doing every riff and run under the sun, but they have a very distinct voice.
1:05:34Donny Hathaway, his voice can come on and you know just who that is. There's no question. And he can stop time. He can stop the room. Same for Nina Simone. Feeling good comes on. Everybody's silent, you know? So like that type of grounded vocal ability is rare, but so powerful. Really inspired me when I was like 16, 17 and just finding my legs and then from there discovering more like current artists and being like wait okay I kind of like pop okay I kind of like rock that's cool too and then just taking what I like from each of these each of these artists each of these genres and doing my best to like you know as as any artist does doing your best to to use it all to make one one thing for yourself one lane for yourself.
1:06:24I'm gonna let you guys do your song, Metamorphosis.
1:06:44I've never had a decent answer to a single question. I don't say my opinions too loud, always second guessing. I can take many chances, I just stick to what I'm passing. My personality, it means to be my first impressions.
1:07:20I give to give it all I've got What I do to be something I'm not Ever planned to be so naturalized Now I'm stuck On autopilot
1:07:56And sometimes I don't like myself Can I be someone else? Someone who makes their dreams come true And drinks from wishing wells Someone that they call lucky and I never seem to fail But sometimes I don't like myself and I'll be someone else What I give to give it all I've got Or have to To be something I'm not Never planned To be so not just Now I'm stuck On autopilot
1:09:08guitar solo
1:09:30The confidence you couldn't see You waved away Look at all the things you did Look at your metamorphosis Finally you found your gift And now you're on a rocket ship You're standing there on that stage All because you had the faith You're basking in the light of day Arras the wretched from your grave My power's in the breezy sway But rooted in the dirt that's the same
1:10:38guitar solo
1:11:00Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. You didn't have the confidence you could see what you've been doing. But look at all the things you did Look at your metamorphosis Finally you found a gift And now you're on a rocket ship You're standing there on that stage All because you had the faith You're basking in the light of day A resurrection from your grave Like flowers in the breeze you sway But rooted in the dark your skin
1:12:24I was real scared. I was real scared to come out this time. That was great, y 'all. I want to thank Infinity Song, Abraham, Momo, Angel, Israel, shredding the guitar. That was beautiful. I want to thank Tribeca for having Broken Record here. Wonderful live taping. And thank you guys for coming out and watching us up here. It was great to have you guys and hope to do this again. Let's do it. Thank you.
1:12:54In the episode description, you'll find a link to a playlist of some of our favorite Infinity Song tracks and also some of our favorite soft rock songs. Be sure to check out YouTube.com slash Broken Record Podcast to see all of our video interviews. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at The Broken Record Pod. You can follow us on Twitter at Broken Record. Broken Record is produced and edited by Leah Rose with marketing help from Eric Sandler and Jordan McMillan. Our engineer is Ben Tolliday. Broken Record is a production of Pushkin Industries. If you love this show and others from Pushkin, consider subscribing to Pushkin Plus.
1:13:31Pushkin Plus is a podcast subscription that offers bonus content and ad-free listening for$4.99 a month. Look for Pushkin Plus on Apple Podcast subscriptions. And if you like this show, please remember to share, rate, and review us on your podcast app. Our theme music is by Kenny Beats. I'm Justin Richmond.
1:13:55The more you learn about your favorite artists, the more you want to know. Claude helps you keep digging, finding new threads and rabbit holes to explore. Whether it's discovering deeper meaning behind a detail in an interview or figuring out the influence behind an artist's particular era, Claude thinks with you to find the next clue. If you can't get enough of the stories behind your favorite music and artists, Claude will help you discover new layers you didn't know existed. Try Claude for free at Claude.ai slash brokenrecord.
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From the publisher
Great musical chemistry often starts at home. Think of family bands like Sly and the Family Stone, The Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, Haim, Oasis, AC/DC, and The Jacksons. Infinity Song, our guests today, carry on that tradition. Siblings Momo, Abraham, Angel, and Israel Boyd grew up between Detroit and New York City, sharpening their sound wherever they could: in church, in the park, on subway platforms, even around the kitchen table.
Their devotion to performing eventually carried them to bigger stages, guided by their father and manager John Boyd and supported by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Along the way, they’ve developed a unique blend of R&B and folk that they describe as modern-day soft rock.
For today's episode, Justin Richmond sat down with the Boyd siblings live at the Tribeca Festival in New York. They talked about the role music has always played in their family, the pivotal moment when their dad saved the day in a high-stakes meeting with Jay-Z, and they performed a couple of tracks from their album Metamorphosis Complete.
You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite tracks from Infinity Song HERE.
And you can hear our Fall playlist HERE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.




