Bio

Photosynthesizers began in the summer of 2007 as an anonymous emcee-producer duo. At the time Maurice “BarCodes” Jackson was developing a live project and Joshua Bryant was in search of an artist who would bring a dynamic component to his music catalog. The two would meet through an ad in a local magazine and in the summer of 2008 they began touring their synthesis of electronic beats and scientific lyrics.

As Photosynthesizers progressed so did their sound and they eventually returned to their original plan of forming a live band. Barcodez contacted producer and turntable wiz kid Phillip “Dr. Data” Nguyen. Joshua called on old high school friends Nick Tharpe (drums) and Wade Puryear (keys) who, along with Mikemetic (bass), were established contributors in RVA’s live-underground music scene from 1998-2004 via collaborations with heavy-hitters Infectious Organisms and Craig. The artists were not satisfied with the idea of being just a live hip-hop band as their eclectic influences produced sounds that crossed many genres so they soon decided to add accomplished soul vocalist Samantha “Samsun” Hewlett to the mix.

Their appeal has caught the attention of many as they have been invited to share the stage with national acts like Snoop Dogg, Alex Cuba, Black Sheep, Bone Thugs n Harmony, The Foreign Exchange and Flobots to name a few. The group gained a cult following on the Richmond scene with the release of their 2010 EP “Speakers In Black Holes”and are currently working on another EP due to be released later in 2011.