Hannes De Maeyer is one of Belgium's most versatile composers, best known for his collaboration with director duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Gangsta, Black) and his score to the recent ITV prime time drama Professor T, starring Ben Miller. His work ranges from contemporary electronic scores with pop and hip hop influences, to rich, orchestral and symphonic works.
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 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-school electronic sonic world; or the tense soundscape he crafted for the Amsterdam-set crime series, ‘Women of the Night’.”
After meeting the talented Belgian directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, they started to collaborate for their first feature Image, quickly followed by 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.”
Other recent projects include Rafaël, the Dutch romantic drama by award-winning filmmaker Ben Sombogaart, German feature Immenhof, an immensely popular youth film by Sharon von Wietersheim, the original score to nerve-wracking tv-series Keizersvrouwen (Women of the Night) and co-composed by French composer Eloi Ragot , 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 comic series Ninja Express.
Most recently, Hannes has completed the score to the second film of the popular German youth film franchise Immenhof (Immenhof - Das grosse Versprechen), and to two seasons of the UK remake of crime drama series Professor T (ITV/PBS), starring Ben Miller.
“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)
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.
"It has become a poetic film, thanks to the collaboration with the Belgian top choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and the music of Hannes De Maeyer, Oum and Aboubakr. ‘Because you can tell a lot through music and dance in an emotional way, it is a good alternative for the classic film dialogue. A fascinating experiment for our film, which is bathed in the atmosphere of a thousand and one nights’, says El Arbi.” (VRT NWS)
2023 promises to be another exciting year for De Maeyer, with several projects in the pipeline, including the prestigious miniseries The Jewish Council (produced by Levitate Films (NL) & Caviar), as well as the third season of Professor T and the brand-new series The Couple Next Door, both produced by Eagle Eye Drama (UK) & Happy Duck Films.
- 01. Women of the Night - Main Titles
- 02. Professor T - Morning Routines
- 03. Black - First Date
- 04. Professor T - Main Titles
- 05. Women of the Night - Recap
- 06. De Stig - Tour de France
- 07. Immenhof - Main Theme
- 08. U-235 - Sacrifice
- 09. Gangsta - I’m a Mothafucking Gangsta
- 10. Back To Black (performed by Oscar and the Wolf & Tsar B)