I WANT TO BE THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE VISION AND THE MUSIC

1996 - 2015: Music beginnings in Venezuela.

Maracaibo, Venezuela. Very different from the electronic blends of Hip-Hop, Jazz and Funk that Hendrick brings out today, he was 11 years old when his parents were seeking to expand his cultural knowledge and was signed up for classical flute lessons at a music school in his hometown. In “El Sistema” he met his first music teacher, who was the first person who taught him to love music, she taught him flute technique as well as music notation and theory.

Years later, Hendrick got into Rock, Hard Rock and Punk, learned how to play the drums and started a rock band. It was around this age that Hendrick discovered a passion and obsession for everything related to music, he would research and find new bands every day to see where his music taste would take him (a habit he still has to this day). During this time, he explored a lot of popular rock history from the ‘60s and all the way up to the 2000s, a lot of Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys and The Beatles—while at home, his family and friends exposed him to Latin genres like Salsa, Reggaeton, Merengue and Venezuelan Folkloric Music.

At age 16, Hendrick shifted his path for a second time when he discovered Jazz music. Miles Davis and John Coltrane, the Adderley Brothers and Gene Krupa took him to the 30s, 40s and 50s—where all his new jazz idols were coming from. He read about them, heard their music, and decided to understand it in a deeper way so at age 17 he got his first saxophone and borrowed fingerings from his flute technique to be able to understand jazz music.

While being immersed in this mixture of sounds and an expanding music knowledge, Venezuela’s sociopolitical issues became worse every day and it was a must to look for opportunities outside his home country. Hendrick was accepted and later forced to reject his admission into The New School in New York and Berklee College of Music because an application was needed for Venezuela’s government to provide US dollars at the official exchange rate—his requests were denied due to music “not being a priority” for the country’s interests.

2015-2019: Formative years in Argentina.

Buenos Aires, Argentina. After this unfortunate event and still convinced to leave Venezuela to pursue music, Hendrick went down to Buenos Aires in 2015. In Argentina, he studied saxophone and popular harmony but most importantly he was introduced to his current music path: music production. In 2017, Hendrick shifted his focus once more from performing with the saxophone to what he felt he needed to be doing: producing and mixing music for other artists.

In a year, he released his first album H96, a couple singles, an EP called Frankly Statin’—he also collaborated with other artists like NAUNET, Grace & Badlove, Tirman Kid, Clara Cava, DEDO, and others. This is when Hendrick started producing Hip-Hop, Lo-Fi & Trap, as well as House & Electronic Funk.

2019-2023: Berklee and More…

Cali, Colombia. In early 2019, Hendrick moved from Argentina and now lives in Cali. After much effort, Hendrick was able to sign up for Berklee Online’s B.A. in Music Production major where he graduated from as a Summa Cum Laude in 2022.

His career continued to develop during the Covid-19 lockdown and he was fortunate enough to be mentored by Grammy Award-winning songwriters, producers, and engineers. Namely, Rachel Alina, Josh Gudwin, Alex Tumay, MixedbyAli, and Matt Rad.

Since graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2022, Hendrick’s portfolio has more than doubled. Through collaborations with artists like Braxton Cook (USA), Mangus (Venezuela), Karma Rivera (USA), Equiknoxx Collective (Jamaica/Germany), Jambeau (Colombia), Julia Nunes (USA), and Alexis Play (Colombia) Hendrick has been featured in platforms like The Grammys, Pitchfork, BBC6, The Wire Magazine, and Spotify.

To listen to the artists Hendrick has worked with, head over to his portfolio here.