Music composerS
2wei
From zero to one hundred in five years. That's how one could write the success story of Simon and Christian aka 2WEI in a few words. With a great sense for sounds, melodies and vibes, the two are downright high-flyers and celebrate great successes in the commercial, gaming and trailer world. In our interview, the two tell us that in addition to world-class music, there still must be time for their heart-project of promoting young talents.
The Sturgheons: Please introduce yourselves briefly: who are you, where are you from and what do you do? 2WEI: Hi! We are Simon Heeger and Christian Vorländer. Both 37 years old. I, Simon, come from Nordhorn in Lower Saxony, Christian from Büschhof, a small village in North Rhine-Westphalia. Together we founded 2WEI Music 5 years ago.
What is the story behind 2WEI Music? How did you meet and why are you working together here today? We both studied music composition and production together in Enschede, the Netherlands. That was 16 years ago by now. We became best friends pretty quickly and already planned to do "something together" at some point. After several detours via LA it took more than 10 years until we combined our knowledge of commercial and film music and founded 2WEI.
Was there ever the (one) project that got your career rolling? If yes, which one? Our first commercial assignment was immediately a worldwide FILA campaign. Since we first worked in a two-room apartment, the director took off the music while sitting on Christian's bed. But that put our name right on the radar for many. We then entered the trailer world in 2016 with a score for the Wonder Woman trailer. We continued that same year with "Santa Clara" for the LIDL Christmas campaign and then the next year with a Survivor cover of "Destiny's Child" for the Tomb Raider trailer. This song now has almost 100 million streams and has opened many great doors for us.
What do you think you do differently or even better than others in your business? We are pretty broadly positioned: We don't only want to do commercial music, but also compose for Hollywood blockbusters, produce for AAA Games and develop artists. Christian's background with Junkie XL & Hans Zimmer ensures that the sound quality is also at an absolute top level.
What do you do better alone and what do you do better together? How do you divide up your jobs and to-dos? We work very well as a team. Christian has a penchant for perfectionism, no matter how long it takes, while I, Simon, also keep deadlines and timings in mind. Christian is also the lead composer, overseeing and fine-tuning all the compositions, while I do a lot of "non-musical" stuff, such as customer contact and management.
Are there also sometimes points of contention; views or approaches on which you disagree? If so, who has the last word? In 5 years of company history there have never been (knock on wood) strong disagreements. We try to communicate as much as possible when problems arise. Better too much than too little.
What qualities do you value in each other? Simon: What I like about Christian is that he is very perfectionist. He works on an idea until it's perfect. No matter how long it takes.
Christian: Simon then makes sure that we still meet the deadline. (laughs)
What do you prefer to work on: music for commercials or for games? Both have pros and cons. But the great thing about game trailers is that the appreciation is very high. In addition, we often have more time for the music and we are trusted a lot.
Which song would you like to have composed? Is there an all-time favorite? Simon: I think most of John Williams' timeless themes are very great. Like Jurassic Park, Star Wars or Indiana Jones.
What makes a good soundtrack in your opinion? A good melody that tells a story even without pictures. Something that does not describe how something happens but why something happens.
What does a good music briefing look like for you? We get the same sentence in practically every briefing: "It's very difficult to brief music". But some people still manage to do it very well. Moodtracks always help a lot, with specific information about what you like. For example, on track XY there is a clarinet in second 20 that plays a nice melody. And with track YZ the end works better, etc.
And what criteria play an important role for you when selecting a project? Or to put it another way: Are there any projects that you would reject? From the following three criteria, at least two points should apply:
1) Does the project have prestige?
2) Is the budget interesting?
3) Will it be fun?
In this way, you can filter out relatively quickly where it is worthwhile to participate. If there are still doubts, the golden rule is "If it's not a 'hell yes', it's a ‚no'."
Is there a client, a request, a dream project that you would take on immediately? Simon: I would love to contribute the music for an Apple or Coca Cola Superbowl commercial.
What aspect of your work makes you happiest? What would you not want to miss? We love giving new talent new opportunities. We want to build a creative community and there is nothing more satisfying than giving talented people a platform for their art.
A question with a wink: Which of you is the better musician and why? Simon: That's definitely Christian. I don't know any composer who is so versatile and can produce such world-class music in every genre.
Do your music tastes actually differ? What genre, what kind of music do each of you prefer to listen to privately? Christian: Simon is very pop-focused. For him, a hook is the most important thing, while for me, production, story and feel also play a role.
What do most people not know about you? Any quirks or embarrassments? Simon: Christian is very bad with his iPhone. Contacts and emails disappear all the time.
Christian: Simon had to spend a night in jail in Cannes … (Note from The Sturgheons: Unfortunately, this was not elaborated on ... laugh)
Germany, June 2021. | Interview by The Sturgheons with Christian Vorländer and Simon Heeger from 2WEI. | Music by 2WEI.
