Levi Zadoff and Dead Hendrix team up on “Dead Summer,” a pop-punk/rap-rock chronicle of life and loss during COVID-19
LOS ANGELES, CA – Just like the rest of the world, rising music stars Levi Zadoff and Dead Hendrix each experienced tremendous loss during the COVID-19 pandemic in different countries. When they met through social media, they knew they had to make a record of this era, as a tribute to the people we all lost and the trauma left behind. That’s the genesis of their collaborative EP “Dead Summer.”
A high-energy mashup of Zadoff’s pop-punk emo and Dead
Hendrix’s rap-punk sounds, “Dead Summer” is a powerful elegy, channeling the
stew of emotions left in the wake of the pandemic.
“Part of the passion behind this project was kind of coping
and just making something so we didn’t have to just sit with it, and helping
other people cope with their traumas during the pandemic by listening to the
music. Because I think a lot of people just had to sit with the pain for the
past year or so,” Zadoff says.
“Many of my friends died from drug overdose and suicide, and
there were so many stories like that over just a year and a half. So, you’re
dealing with the metaphorical death of summer because nothing’s happening, but
you’re also dealing with deaths of friends and family.”
Zadoff says the track he’s most proud of is “Love Game,” a
power-pop emo breakup anthem that encapsulates the anxiety and cabin fever
vibes of the lockdown era. The duo take turns dropping verses, with Dead
Hendrix chanting the refrain “trapped in my mind like I’m snowed in, I been
going crazy like I’m Cobain,” while Zadoff drops verses that cycle through
escalating relationship insecurities.
The overall effect is both rousing and claustrophobic – an
anxious feeling anyone who lived through the lockdowns will remember. Zadoff
describes it as “being trapped in your own head and wanting to let it out.”
Ironically, Zadoff and Dead Hendrix’s collaboration might
never have happened if not for the lockdowns.
Zadoff, a 21-year-old Los Angeles native whose 2020 rap
album “Welcome Back, Golden Boy” has had more than 10 million streams on
Soundcloud, was looking for collaborators to try out his new pop-punk sound. He
came across 20-year-old Ottawa, Canada rap-rocker Dead Hendrix, born Gavin
Pratt, on Snapchat and was impressed by his musical talent.
“I just saw him dancing around to his own music asking people very humbly to check it out,” Zadoff says. “Physically he just looked like he didn’t give a fuck. His music was passionate and right to the point and just objectively good.”
Due to the lockdowns, they couldn’t meet in person, but they
were able to collaborate through Zoom.
“It’s been entirely an online venture, which has been kind
of magical. We’ve been able to do everything remotely, without ever seeing each
other in person,” Zadoff says.
For Dead Hendrix, the collaboration has pushed him to level
up his sound and grow as an artist.
“It’s the perfect blend of melody, edge, counterculture, and
relevance. I think, finally, with Levi, I am making the music I have envisioned
since I was 13,” Dead Hendrix says. “The Dead Summer EP is the closest thing so
far to my musical aspirations coming to life. If I heard this project when I
was first getting into music I would have fallen in love.”
Though Dead Summer is a musical departure for both artists,
Zadoff says fans of his earlier rap albums are coming along for the ride.
“The fans see my growth and are really appreciative of the
fact that I’m going into this genre. I see tons of videos that people send me
where they’re singing along to our songs and it’s awesome,” Zadoff says.
But Zadoff says neither he nor Dead Hendrix is in this for
the fame.
“I really see this project having a good impact on people on
an individual level. I can see this album being something you talk about to
your kids when you’re older. Like, ‘You wanna know what this pandemic was like?’”
he says. “I don’t think the goal is to be famous but to make music to be
remembered by.”
With the end of lockdowns, Zadoff and Dead Hendrix hope to
meet soon to tour California and Canada. Dead Hendrix also has plans to release
additional solo singles later in 2022.
Make sure to stay connected to Levi Zadoff and Dead
Hendrix on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/deadhendrixandlevizadoff/dead-summer-ep
https://www.levizadoffmusic.com/
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