Ramin Djawadi ranks his top 5 musical influences

Ramin Djawadiis known for composing quite a bit of critically acclaimed and commercially successful music for TV and films in the past decade. Be itPrison Break,FlashForward, Ironman, Clash of the Titans, Pacific Rim, Westworld,he has lit up the spaces in these stories with groundbreaking scores. But what brings home the most limelight is his constant appearance in the credits of Game of Thrones. The German composer has been a series regular, writing and composing music through the characters and their stories.

When Djawadi is not busy designing long musical definitions for films and television, he likes to go on stage with his compositions. During his stint with bands in the early days, he loved engaging with a live audience, guitar being his choice of weapon. The Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience fits right in. The experience is coming back for its Leg-3, starting from September 6,2018, atKey Arena in Seattle.

The tour will bring the music of Westeros to arenas across North America this season, traveling to cities like San Jose, Chicago, Boston, and finally concluding at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on October 14. The touring group, that features Ramin Djawadi and a host of musicians, will play musical pieces from the show combining orchestral music with vocals and stunning visuals from the key events in each season.

Ahead of the tour, Ramin talked to The AV Club about the genres and movements that shaped his musical journey. He ranked his top 5 influences saying,“It’s actually kind of interesting to think about it. The number one would definitely betheRomantic Classical Periodcomposerslike Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Wagner.There is something in their school that has influenced me immensely, and I think it’s a really great source of where film score came from.

“Then going all the other way, another big influence wasRock music. Growingup in the 80s, I was heavily influenced by rock music, like Metallica for example.

“Number 3 would also be from the 80s, which is the 80s pop music. I am from Germany originally, and we called itNew Wave.Depeche Mode, DuranDuran, Tears for fears;those kinds of bandshad a huge influence on me.

“I guess then I could skip forward to more contemporary bands such as theRadiohead,Adele.Those are bands, artists that I really like now.Bruno Marsis another one.

“Number 5 would then be the soundtrack that got me into film music, which would be Elmer Bernstein’sThe Magnificent Seven,that andStar wars;those were the two scores that made me want to become a film composer.”

So, plug in for the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience if you are in any of the touring cities this fall. And tell us in the comments section below about the kind of music that influences you.