How The Traitors’ music plays with your emotions
Their big break came with a stormy reworking of Destiny’s Child’s Survivor, which featured in the trailer to Alicia Vikander’s Tomb Raider, external.
Since then, their music has appeared in films like Wonder Woman and video games such as League of Legends. In The Traitors, original 2wei songs like Blindside, external now feature alongside their covers (other producers, including SYML and Damned Anthem also contribute songs to the show).
Heeger says their background in commercials makes the music perfectly suited to the show’s slippery skullduggery.
“In adverts, you only have a few seconds to convey a certain emotion and, especially in Traitors, where there are cliffhangers and moments that you don’t expect, you need music that comes to the point right away but still has a boldness to it.
“It’s a sweet spot, and it’s not easy to convey, but every now and then it works quite well.”
Fans agree.
On Spotify, there are hundreds of playlists dedicated to the programme’s background music. Some are tailored to murder mystery parties and Halloween events. Others compile more sedate moments under labels like “gentle tension” or “chill elder emo watching Traitors”.
But never forget: the soundtrack is playing a deceitful game of its own.
“A lot of my music has a wink in it and, for The Traitors, it’s a little silly and slightly over the top,” says Watts.
“I think it helps the nastier side of things – the murder, the plotting – feel a bit more fun.”