Jackson Free Press

The Christian music domain is saturated with sound-alikes. Styles flourish and fade just as they do with secular radio, and artists tend to follow suit. For Jackson-based Seeker & Servant, pushing above the shifting stream of current trends is a matter of putting musical preferences to work and nonstop effort into spreading the word.

"Our biggest pet peeve is, in the Christian music world, everyone follows Hillsong and Jesus Culture, so we wanted to stay clear of that," keyboardist Cameron Wood, 22, says. Wood is a vocalist alongside his brother, guitarist Chandler Wood, 20. Newest member Kody Gautier, 21, rounds out the Seeker & Servant trio in a dual role as the group's percussionist and signature synth-pad programmer.

"We're fans of music that surrounds you—immersive, big, atmospheric sounds like M83—so you can lose yourself in worship," Wood says. "It's simple and organic, but at the same time, it can be breathtaking in what it says about God."

Seeker & Servant began in 2012 as a way for Cameron and Chandler, who frequently collaborated musically, to help out Restoration Church in Flowood. Though the brothers moved on from the church, their songs have taken on a life outside of Sunday services.

"When Kody came on board with programming and adding percussion, it took a different turn," Cameron Wood says. "We had people become interested, and we wanted to make a record. We raised enough money to make it, and it just happened over time. Everything fell into place."

Seeker & Servant's growing public recognition can be attributed in part to the band's persistent promotion of its first full-length record, "Into Your Love I Go," which traces the full journey of an encounter with God over eight songs, from seeking to finding to understanding. The album is set for a Jan. 7 release.

Wood says that marketing the album meant determining an audience for the music and deciding what promotional elements would best fit the band and that audience. The members are no strangers to this analytical approach to production, as all three men co-founded the multimedia consulting company Revival House. However, promoting his own band has been a strange experience for Wood.

"It's been different because we didn't set out to make it a huge thing, but if it becomes that, that's great," he says. "We just wanted to write music because we love it and because we love God."

Seeker & Servant performs at 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave., 601-292-7999) in celebration of the release of "Into Your Love I Go." Admission is $5 and includes a free digital download of the album. Pre-order "Into Your Love I Go" on iTunes. Visit seekerandservant.tumblr.com or find the band on Facebook to purchase tickets and get more info.