When GRID Magazine first met up with Photosynthesizers two years ago, the band-then little over two years old-had been performing at a furious pace and was in the process of completing their EP, Speakers in Black Holes. Since then, they’ve stepped back, reformulated, and overcome to reemerge with av fresh take on their musical message.

“If I had to say anything about Photosynthesizers’ music, it’s about walking through walls, transcending, challenging yourself,” says the band’s vocalist and songwriter who goes by Barcodez. “The only limitation you have is your mind and once you decide that you want a free mind, you have no limitations at all.”
In 2011, which Barcodez calls, “our junior year,” the band realized they needed to find themselves again. Burn-out from playing continuously throughout 2010 and changes in the band line-up, combined with personal challenges, weddings, births, and relocations-in other words, life-caused them to step back and reevaluate what they were doing as a band.

“We were going so heavy and so hard at that point, and doing all those free shows,” explains Samsun, another one of the band’s vocalists and songwriters. “We got so tired of being pimped that we weren’t going to pimp ourselves out anymore. Everybody gets to a point where they have to set their boundaries and know their standards and their worth.” They teamed up with East Coast Entertainment, playing mostly college campuses, and tried to tap into the younger demographic that they had not yet reached.

After their drummer took leave, Dr. Data moved from turntable to drums, leaving a void that the band would fill through creative adaptation. They would also pick up a new member, Chelsea Temple, on keyboard.

But this summer, the band got the boost it needed when its performance at In Your Ear’s Battle of the Bands won them the opportunity to record with the reputable studio.

“To me it was like a divine intervention,” remarks Samsun. “It put things back into perspective, put us back on track.”

The contest itself was a test of the band’s ability to beat the odds. When the drummer who was sitting in with them was in a car accident on his way to the show, it looked like they wouldn’t even get their shot at the prize.

But after a scheduling change delayed their performance, the drummer did show up, and played with an injured arm.

“We crushed it,” Barcodez recalls, adding, “The energy was with us that day.” Although Photosynthesizers took first place in the hip-hop category, Barcodez points out, “For the record, we’re not just a hip-hop band.”

“I’d say we’re more of an alternative band,” says Samsun, pointing out that its members have musical backgrounds ranging from classical, jazz, rock, and soul to techno. Barcodez adds that he himself is finding his rock voice. “People don’t know what to think of us. We’re not that mainstream hip-hop,” says Samsun. “It can be hard for us some times, but I think we’re all the kind of kids who don’t really care. We’re a little weird.”

Their new recording, which they hope will be ready for release at the beginning of 2013, will represent the “reinvention” of Photosynthesizers and will showcase the evolution of Barcodez’s and Samsun’s songwriting talents.

“After four years, it’s like our diploma. This is our senior year, and we ain’t messing around,” says Barcodez. “This album is going to do something!”

Planning to play more shows, both locally and out of town, once the album comes out, Photosynthesizers are returning to what they do best, according to Samsun. When you catch their live performance, she says, “Even if you don’t understand what this music is trying to tell you, you can feel it.”