A Conversation with Hannes De Maeyer

When I was given the opportunity to interview Belgium composer Hannes De Maeyer, I was quite intrigued. Even though only a few projects are available to watch in the US, thanks to Spotify, I could still listen to the majority of his work which has quite a range of music styles and techniques. Underneath it all, our conversation focused on collaboration from directors to musicians to different countries! I learned a lot and had a lot of fun which hopefully comes through the interview. I kept a few real life moments in...Hannes was catching a flight that night with his family to Egypt right after the interview and we joked about our choices of microphones at the beginning. Overall, it gives another insight to a composer's style and way of writing, inspirations and challenges. Thanks again to Hannes and whitebearpr for this opportunity to share with you a little glimpse into a life of a soundtrack composer.

Bio: Hannes De Maeyer is one of Belgium's most versatile composers, best known for his collaboration with director duo Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah (Rebel, Gangsta, Black) and from his original music to ITV prime time drama Professor T and psychological thriller series The Couple Next Door (Starz). His scores range from pure electronic to impressive symphonic instrumentation.
The Cinematic Journal comments on De Maeyer's work: "Belgian composer Hannes De Maeyer is hands down one of Europe's most versatile composers. One need to look no further than his gorgeous soundtrack for the Belgian war drama Torpedo, which summons the flair of old Hollywood war scores or Gangsta, a thriller imbued in 80s nostalgia with its old-skool electronic sonic world or the tense soundscape he crafted for the Amsterdam-set crime series Women of the Night.”
After collaborating with the talented Belgian directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah on their first feature Image, they immediately continued working on their second feature Black, awarded with the Discovery Award during the 40th edition of TIFF in 2015. For El Arbi & Fallah's flashy third feature Gangsta (Patser), De Maeyer created the perfect musical power shot, full of game vibes and inspired by both iconic 80s film scores and contemporary electronic influences.
In 2019, Hannes composed the impressive symphonic score to Belgian war epic Torpedo for which he was awarded with the 2020 Best Original Score for a Belgian Production at the prestigious World Soundtrack Awards. Review Graveyard gives the score for Torpedo 10/10 – “De Maeyer delivers an epic score, packed with original themes, that will send shivers down your spine.”
Since then, Hannes has scored several international productions, including Rafaël , the Dutch romantic drama by award-winning filmmaker Ben Sombogaart, German franchise Immenhof, a series of immensely popular films by Sharon von Wietersheim, the original score to nerve-wracking tv- series Keizersvrouwen (Women of the Night - Netflix) as well as De Stig , a moving and inspiring documentary about cyclist Stig Broeckx, the Irish Tour de France drama The Racer - selected for SXSW in 2020 - and the internationally airing animated series Ninja Express.
In 2022, De Maeyer surpassed himself with his impressive score and songs - for which he collaborated with respectively Moroccan artist Oum & the film's main actor and rapper Aboubakr Bensaihi - for Adil & Bilall's internationally acclaimed musical tragedy Rebel. The film was warmly welcomed during the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and its original score was nominated for Best Music at the Ensor Film Awards and won the Best Original Score at the Magritte Awards.
In 2023, Hannes completed the score to the prestigious NPO miniseries The Jewish Council (produced by Levitate Films (NL) & Caviar), as well as the brand-new series The Couple Next Door, produced by Eagle Eye Drama (UK) & Happy Duck Films, broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK and set to premiere on Starz in January 2025. 
Most recently, Hannes has scored 4 seasons of the UK remake of crime drama series Professor T (ITV/PBS), starring Ben Miller and is currently working on the upcoming 5th season. De Maeyer also started working on Patsers, the sequel to Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah's popular feature Gangsta (Patser).
“In Professor T, De Maeyer introduces a beautiful main theme with a pulse and purpose, and variations of it can be heard throughout the score, supporting the characters and giving scenes greater layers and depth. Though versatile, De Maeyer is primarily a thematic composer with talent for melody, character and orchestration.” (Silva Screen Records)

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