You Haven't Been Rocked Unless You Have Been Rocked Like Astrobelts

Another article on great artists you probably haven't heard of, but should know about.

This week, we give you Photosynthesizers.

Photosynthesizers started out as a Producer/Emcee duo, and quickly grew into a 7 piece band that mixes hip hop, electronica, rock, your imagination, and your wildest dreams all into one. I’m a huge fan, so you should be too.

They are a great band out of Richmond, VA, and I was granted the exclusive interview with J.Bryant, the guitarist/producer of the group. Yea, guys, we do EXCLUSIVE stuff here at Nuthin Major. Soak up all this exclusivity.

Here's the interview:

So, where did you come up with the name Photosynthesizers, and have you ever been mistaken for a plant?

The idea for the name came from the emcee of the group, Barcodez. It felt like it took forever for he and I to come up with the name. We had thrown a bunch around and we kept coming back to this one. The idea of light and sound kind of fit our direction. I have been mistaken for a lot of things in my life, but never a plant...

Introduce the band to our readers, what are your individual roles, and go ahead and tell us which one is the diva?

Up front on the vocals we got Barcodez, emcee, and Samsun, singer/emcee. On the tables and keys we got Dr. Data, aka DJ Manifest. Bass is Mikemetic. Also playing keys is Wade Puryear, who we don't have a nickname for yet. On the drums Nick Tharpe, aka Slick Nick. Then there is me, J. Bryant on the guitar. As for the diva(s), well you should know that the vocalists are always the divas;) I am gonna get in trouble when they read this....

Which one is the fifth Beatle?

I would like to be considered a Beatle, any way I can.

At Nuthin Major, it is all about the music. Since society likes to put music in a box, how can you describe your sound in 2 to 100 words?

Science vs. sound....like Gnarls Barkley meets live hip hop (not the Roots) meets Radiohead.

Which one of your songs do you think embodies Photosynthesizers the most?

I can honestly say each one in its own way. We feel like we truly don't have 2 songs that are approached the same way musically or vocally. Some of our latest studio endeavors though could be at the top of the list, like “Crush”, a song we wrote about the love of music and having a crush on the mic, and “Boombaptism,” which as the title suggests, embodies the power of this music and its ability to "take you down in the water"

Seriously, how does one rock another like astrobelts?


Come to our shows and find out.

There are so many people in your band. Describe your writing and recording process for us.

When we first got started with this live band lineup, most of the music had been written by me and the lyrics by Barcodez. The beauty of the band thing is learning each others style and approach to their instrument. Now we are writing songs as a group, each one bringing their own touch to the song. Sometimes we may have concepts we bring to the table on our own, but they usually grow into much more by the end of the process. As for recording, we recorded a demo that was 5 songs and done in one day, and it was ok but what we are doing now is a whole different level. We are working with a guy here in Richmond named Josh Scolero, and he is helping our sound achieve a new height. We are taking as much time as we need for each song to make sure everything is where we want it to be. If not we go back and rework it until it gets there.

What has been your favorite spot to play, and why?

Hmmm...I guess you could say the National here in Richmond. We got to open for Snoop there. There were probably 1,000 people in the crowd. That can make it my favorite, just for the size of the audience. We just enjoy rocking crowds though, doesn't really matter where it is.

Describe a fan of Photosynthesizers. Include mental status.

I think our fans are like our music, diverse and intelligent (but not pretentious).

Where can we find your music, and when is the next performance? What's next for Photosynthesizers?

http://www.myspace.com/photosynthesiz
http://www.reverbnation.com/photosynthesizers

We also have the facebook and twitter pages you can follow us on. We have a few performances coming up soon; the next one is at The Camel here in Richmond on July 7th. (1621 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23220) As for what's next, we are currently working on a 4 or 5-song EP that should be coming out soon and continuing to try to increase our fan base through performing.

Is there anything else you would like the world to know about Photosynthesizers?

I would like the world to listen to our music, become big fans, buy a ton of Photosynthesizer music, memorabilia, etc. and get us paid so we don't have to work some bs jobs.
And I would like to second that.

Last, but definitely not least, what are you doing and what should more people do to prevent the spread of Norealmusicrotationwhatarewelisteningtosameishdifferentdaypandemic?

We are writing dope ass original music that honestly can't really be messed with by anything I am hearing right now. As for what can other people do, well I think it will change when people decide it should change. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't really want to have to seek out things, they kind of go with whatever they hear and don't necessarily think twice. We as artists have to fight to penetrate the system and then change the game.

Thank you guys for the interview!!!

Photosynthesizers, fighting diseases and bad guys one song at a time! Let me know what you guys think of Photosynthesizers!