Prepare yourself. Music is coming. The much anticipated Game of Thrones Live Concert national tour is only days away from kicking off in Minneapolis. A new promo has been released featuring a timescape montage of the construction and rehearsal process currently underway and Ramin Djawadi chats about what audiences can look forward to.
According to the video, released by Live Nation, this musical undertaking required:
- 3 years of planning
- 15 semi trucks
- 255 lighting fixtures
- 7 custom stages
- 807 linear feet of video wall
- 3,602 minutes of footage reviewed during rehearsal
- 11 eclectic instruments
- 12 barrels of liquid wildfire (per show)
Ramin Djawadi spoke to Columbus Alive about the concert tour and his approach to writing the score for Game of Thrones.
According to Djawadi, the concert will incorporate a strong visual element (ergo the 807 feet of video wall mentioned above) but the centerpiece will, of course, be the music. Djawadi will be leading a crew of around 65 players which will include soloists, a 20-person choir and full string and brass sections. Music has been selected from each of the show’s 6 seasons and will reflect the score’s tonal and instrumental diversity.
While discussing his approach to composing for Game of Thrones, Djawadi stressed the importance of creating a distinct musical atmosphere for each geographic region in the sprawling series. “The important thing is the different locations, and to help clarify them with music or enhance them with music,” he said. “There are all these colors that are so nicely contrasting.”
For example, the music that accompanies scenes that take place beyond the Wall are intended to evoke the icy sparseness of the terrain. “There’s this wind and this ambience that gives you the chills …” he said. “With Daenerys, there are these warmer sounds and ethnic instruments … like the duduk, which is this Middle Eastern flute.”
It’s also important to Djawadi that his score for the fantasy series not seem overly evocative of a specific time or place. “I’m using instruments that are old or ancient kinds of instruments, but then I’m also using synthesizers,” he said. “And sometimes I manipulate instruments so you can’t even tell what it really was. That’s what’s really fun about the show: Musically speaking, there are no limits. There are no boundaries.”
I am going to the Chicago concert in 6 days and I am sooooo excited!! Everything looks amazing!
I thought there was a No Flute rule Ramin
Apparently, if it is an ethnic flute, it is not covered by the no flute rule. Or mayhaps if it is a wooden or bone or bamboo flute, or the pipes of pan, the no flute rule does not apply.
One hears ethnic flutes often, such as Andes flutes and southwest American Indian flutes. The hollow unsupported tone and non-Western tuning gives it away.
The images of this thing look so kewl. I wonder if that’s how it’s really going to look in reality?
Rella,
I’m going with my daughter in Portland on April 2 (the last date)! You’ll need to post a review. 🙂
And to think the lampooning Emerson, Lake and Palmer et al got for this kind of thing 😉
Wolfish,
I sure will! And hopefully it will be a good one! Never know what the stage and set-up will look like until you are actually there, especially scale-wise? But hopefully HBO has done as good a job with the concert as it has done with GoT! And I know I will love the music already!?❤
I’m going to the concert on Monday night! It’s the first concert of the tour! I’m counting down the days. 🙂
The graphic makes the show look like a disco in Hell. Or a typical Kanye concert.
Rella,
I am going to the last show so I will be avoiding any more spoilers and reviews from now on! I predict I am going to geek so hard at the show that I will embarrass my husband.
With the tour going through April 2, I wonder if Ramin will be composing for the new season when he is on the road?
Marlana,
Oh cool. I’m quite unsullied when it comes to music, so info is much appreciated.
they need to come to Mainland Europe 🙁