THE FINAL BOW

EDDY CHEN (OPPOSITE) AND BRETT YANG (BELOW) MADE CLASSICAL MUSIC COOL AGAIN WITH TWOSET VIOLIN. NOW, AT THE PEAK OF THEIR POPULARITY, THEY ARE TAKING THE NEXT BIG STEP-RETIREMENT.

- FARHAN SHAH

JEFF BEZOS ONCE SAID in a 2018 CNBC interview that overnight success takes 10 years. For Eddy Chen and Brett Yang, it took a year—365 days of writing scripts, filming content, and uploading them into the void, unsure if anyone was even watching them. Their early videos had “50 to 100 views”, and that was on a good day. Sometimes they had none.

Chen remembers the first time they made a video. They were in a dormitory in Melbourne, neck-deep in a rigorous music camp. Between rehearsals, Chen and Yang discussed the then-rising popularity of YouTube, particularly the virality of the Korean track ‘Gangnam Style’, the first video to reach a billion views in December 2012.

If you watch it today, it feels dated and a relic of its era. Yet, the combination of catchy lyrics, ridiculous set pieces, a dance style that could be easily mimicked, and over-the-top costumes captured the global zeitgeist of a generation. In no time, millions would watch the video just to see how many more views it had.

It also captivated Chen and Yang. Used to academic structure and musical rigour, YouTube felt like the Wild West, where anything could work with the right spark. And so they began their YouTube journey as TwoSet Violin while working in an orchestra during the day. Their early attempts were raw and unfiltered, but entertaining. Gradually, they honed their comedic and content chops. They tried new styles, pushed themselves to film in public, and taught themselves to edit. Their videos weren’t gaining traction, but they persevered. “We were always editing between rehearsals. Our early videos didn’t get many views, but we didn’t think they were a waste because we learnt something every time,” says Chen.

Then, it happened.