Ramin Djawadi talks scoring Game of Thrones season 7 and that Ed Sheeran cameo

Ramin Djawadi has been scoring Game of Thrones from the beginning, so we have him to thank for everything from the famous opening theme to last year’s “Light of the Seven.” According to an interview he gave with Billboard, when it came time to score seasons 6 and 7, the composer changed his process.

"Most of the time I didn’t even start until they’ve finished shooting and I’d come in at the end of post-production. But in season 6 and [upcoming] season 7 I was able to go to set and see the actors and meet with them and the directors and see [showrunners] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] and get a sneak peek. Being on set is such an inspiration to see what’s going on and talk about what’s coming up."

That wasn’t the only time Djawadi used the word “inspiring” to describe his time on the show. To hear him tell it, seeing the sets, costumes, and storylines allowed him to “develop the existing themes and also add some new ones.” And of course, the dragons provide plenty of inspiration. “The dragons are the size of 747s now,” he said. “That’s epic in its own right, so the music has to rise with that as well,”

Djawadi Game of Thrones duties also afford him side benefits, as when he got to perform live at the season 7 premiere event at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

"It was so great being at Disney hall with the amazing sound there. It was my first time performing there and it’s such a spectacular place and it sounds so amazing. I’ve been waiting for season 7 for so long, so the audience was pumped. The idea was to lead into season 7 by performing the main title and two pieces from the last episode of season 6."

Regarding the score for season 7, Djawadi was short on specifics, but teased what he could. “There’s some really beautiful, emotional scenes in this season and really amazing actions scenes,” he said. “They’ve [the dragons] grown so much that musically I was able to push in both directions — emotional and action-packed.” And since season 7 has bigger set pieces, we can expect bigger musical ensembles, featuring “bigger string sections and brass and choirs and…much bigger orchestra sounds.”

And what about that cameo everyone was talking about in the season 7 premiere? Did Djawadi interface with Ed Sheeran at all?

"It’s pretty cool. He sings a piece that I wrote with lyrics that came from the book. It was kind of like [season 3’s ‘The Bear And The] Maiden Fair,’ where I went in and wrote melodies for lyrics from the book. Ed sings those lyrics and he’s great."

Next: Watch the trailer for “Stormborn,” the second episode of Game of Thrones season 7

We’re eager to see what other tricks Djawadi has up his sleeve for the rest of season 7.