Remixes of music from the Game of Thrones TV Series

Game of Thrones

A playlist of all the pieces in which violin (and occasionally Cello) feature prominently

Pulling Strings

A violin and electric guitar adaptation of Death Cab for Cutie's "Lack of Color" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jduFDgIr598). 

I used a Fender Stratocaster through a Marshall amp and recorded the guitar directly through a Yeti microphone (http://bluemic.com/yeti/) placed next to the amp. It was raining today and the microphone was picking that up as well but it fit into the mood of the song anyway so I just let it be

The electric violin was recorded directly and the piano was programmed. 

I upped the key from Eb to E to make it simpler in general.

Lack Of Colour

The genius Carnatic vocalist Madurai Mani Iyer (1912-1968), possibly the greatest exponent of live improvisation in Carnatic classical music, popularized this "English Note" composed by Harikesanallur Mutthiah Bhagavathar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNjl5w8Prw0) to showcase his autodidactic (self teaching) talent in expanding beyond his strictly classical training. This piece was extremely popular with an independence era audience that felt pride in one of their own "getting" western music while no Englishman could perform a Thodi alapana. 

Obviously as a Indian classical musician, Mutthiah Bhagavathar only composed the main melody, an incredibly catchy and hummable tune that would have worked in the best courts of Vienna. But Western classical music is about harmony layered over the melody and I was surprised that no one had taken a crack at taking this really catch melody and writing a String quartet around it. 

There were some interesting challenges. Mani Iyer clearly did not keep harmony in mind when he wrote the piece so there are places where the melodic sequence presents quite a hard challenge to harmonize, but all in all, I think it turned out okayish. 

Again, I am quite an amateur and It will be great if more talented musicians take this melody and set it to even better background scores :)

English Note (by Madurai Mani Iyer) - String Quartet

An adaption of Ramin Djawadi's Rains of Castamere on the Violin and Cello. The raga is Natabhairavi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natabhairavi) although the phrases used sound like Bhairavi and occasionally Anandabhairavi. 

The notes of Natabhairavi match with the Western Natural minor scale. For fans of the book, think of it as a Dornish version of what they would like to do to the Lannisters



Rains Of Castamere

A kutthu remix of the Game of Thrones theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53c8reh_uh0)


Game of Thrones Theme- Kutthu remix

A Sanskrit adaptation of Rains of Castamere that makes a connection between the historical arc of Kashmir in 1947 and the destruction of Castamere in the GRR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire

Lead vocals, backing vocals (tenor), arrangement, mixing, mastering: @krishashok
Flutes, Backing vocals (Bass): @indian_music_fan

Lyrics by SP Suresh (https://twitter.com/vajrabhrt)

अथ कस्त्वम् कुतो वन्द्यः ?
मानी प्रभुरवादीत् 
Who are you now, who deserves such respect (and obeisance)? 
So said the proud Lord 

उभावपि सिम्हौ रुचिरेव भिन्ना 
इदमेव तथ्यं जानामि
We are both lions, only the sheen is different! 
This is the truth that I know!

सुवर्णम् रक्तम् वा भवतु चर्म 
नखाः समाना एव! 
मम तु दीर्घास् तीव्राश्च  
त्वदीयेभ्यस् तीव्रतराः
Let the skin (sheath) be gold or red, 
the nails are similar! 
Mine are long and sharp  
Sharper than yours!  

इत्यवोचत् इत्यवोचत् 
काश्मीररजः  
So he said, so he said, the King of Kashmir

अद्य तु शून्या तत्सभा 
विलापवृश्टिस्तस्याम् 
Now his court is deserted 
And there is a rain of tears in it 


Rains Of Kashmir

An Indian classical adaptation of "Light of the Seven" by Ramin Djawadi
Piano: Sarthak Dev
Violin, Arrangement, Mixing/Mastering: Krish Ashok

Saptadeepam

Darth Vaadhiar Theme

Cover of Maxence Cyrin's "Where is my mind", which by itself is a cover of The Pixies original (that was featured in the soundtrack of "Fight Club")

Originally Recorded on Garageband, now re-done on Logic Pro X

Where is My Mind

Piano score recorded through a MIDI keyboard and heavily corrected for mistakes. 

Ave Maria

I take the ridiculous and the sublime, add cellos, violins, guitars and random internet collaborators to make music of sorts