Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

What If the Game of Thrones Theme Was Surf Rock? This TikToker Has the Answer

02/11/2024

What If the Game of Thrones Theme Was Surf Rock? This TikToker Has the Answer Guitarist and TikTok user Cloudchord puts his spin on the epic theme music, originally composed by Ramin Djawadi 98.

By

Tara Bellucci

November 1, 2024

Image courtesy of HBO

What if Game of Thrones was surf rock? Replace Westeros with a California beach. Instead of the Iron Throne, a bunch of sunscreen-slicked Kens with different crest-covered swim trunks are fighting over the lifeguard chair. Whitewalkers are now great white sharks . . . you get the idea.

Curious About Surf Rock?

Get a brief history of this distinctive and highly influential guitar style in this playlist curated by guitar faculty member Bobby Stanton.

Thats the world TikToker Cloudchord conjures in one of his latest videos. On his channel, the musician often takes discordant genres, bands, and songs and turns them into surf rock jams. Some of the highest-viewed posts involve giving the surf treatment to metal bands such as Megadeth, Judas Priest, and Metallica, with the latter reposting his video to their page.

This week, he set his sights on prestige TV.

@cloudchord @Game of Thrones #surfguitar #shredguitar #telecaster #whitewalkercosplay

original sound - Cloudchord --

Origins of an Iconic Theme

Djawadi talking with Berklee students in 2017.

Image by Kelly Davidson

The original theme was composed by Ramin Djawadi 98. He has talked about the process of working with the shows creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to create the score.

A lot of the music was based on conversations with Benioff and Weiss. They had a great vision for what they wanted in the show. They said, We've got to find our own sound and our own tone. It's such a fantasy world and they never wanted to go too traditional. There's room for modern electronic sounds without overdoing it. I tried to find the sweet spots for the modern sounds.

Watch the full conversation below:

While at Berklee, Djawadi studied film scoring and guitar performance, and has since gone on to work on projects including Westworld, Iron Man, The Eternals, Pacific Rim, and the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.

Read more about Ramin Djawadi:

Film Composer Ramin Djawadi Returns to Berklee During Game of Thrones Tour

Berklee Alumnus Ramin Djawadi 98 Stuns with Game of Thrones Finale Music

Scoring Westworld: Ramin Djawadi 98 Blends the Futuristic and the Historical

Related Categories

News

Most Popular

Jim Lucchese

Image by Kelly Davidson

Jim Lucchese Named Berklee's Fifth President A 20-year music industry veteran and a committed artist advocate with deep Berklee roots, Lucchese sets the tone for a new era at the institution.

Latest

Americana artist and Berklee student Kyle Ray conceptualized the Blue Ridge Benefit Concert: In Support of Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts on November 20.

Kelly Davidson

Berklee to Hold Blue Ridge Benefit Concert for Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts The event, featuring headliners Langhorne Slim and Kashus Culpepper, takes place on Wednesday, November 20, at Brighton Music Hall.

Alissia Benveniste BM '14

Image courtesy of the artist

Berklees 2025 Alumni Grammy Nominees: See the Full List Nominees include Alissia Benveniste, Miguel Zen n, Bill Frisell, Madi Diaz, Lalah Hathaway, and many others.

Quincy Jones at the 1983 Berklee commencement ceremony, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate.

Image courtesy of the Berklee Archives

Remembering the Rare and Extraordinary Life of Quincy Jones With the passing of the legendary musician, composer, arranger, producer, and all-around media mogul, Berklee remembers one of its earliest and most prominent alums with a tribute and a retrospective playlist.

Read All

Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/game-of-thrones-surf-rock-tik...
See more stories from berklee

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

14/11/2026

Marcelo Dai's Live Session Captured with URSA Cine Immersive

Marcelo Dai's Live Session Captured with URSA Cine Immersive Brie Clayton November 14, 2026 0 Comments Artist takes viewers on an immersive journe...

14/11/2026

Political Ads Spiked a Week Before Midterm Elections, Nielsen Says

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

14/11/2026

FCC Sends 2027 Upper C-Band Auction Plan Into Motion

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

14/11/2026

ZEISS Showcases Latest Cine Lenses at TorunCAMERIMAGE 202...

Newest Lenses, Horizon Anamorphic Seminar & Guided Lens Character Experience Highlight Creative Possibilities At the 2026 Toru CAMERIMAGE Film Festival, ZEISS...

14/11/2026

Sonnet Announces Black Friday Sale on Select Products

Sonnet Announces Black Friday Sale on Select Products Brie Clayton November 14, 2026 0 Comments WHAT: Sonnet Technologies is having a sale on a select...

14/11/2026

Berklee Alumni Shine at the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards

Berklee Alumni Shine at the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards This year's winners included songwriters, engineers, and performers who contributed to acclaimed reco...

13/11/2026

E1 Series Brings Its Remote-First Broadcast Model to Miami for Season Finale

The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...

13/11/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 39: Carolina Hurricanes Christine Williams & Jason Danby - Celebrating a Stanley Cup in Raleigh

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

13/11/2026

Benson Boone to Headline Entertainment at Discover NHL Winter Classic

Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...

13/11/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces Ambisonic Microphone for Immersive Spatial Audio

Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...

13/11/2026

The Studio B&H and Riedel to Power SMPTE MTS Solutions Hub

SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...

13/11/2026

HPA Sets 2027 Tech Retreat Theme Around a Changing Industry

The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...

13/11/2026

Football Manager 27 Touch Joins Apple Arcade, with Plants vs. Zombies, Prince of Persia Added Dec. 3

Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...

13/11/2026

MotoGP and ESPN Announce Two-Year Media Rights Agreement for U.S. and Latin America

MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...

13/11/2026

Apple Sports Adds UFC Ahead of UFC 334

Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...

13/11/2026

NBA Names Fanatics Studios Multiyear Creative and Event Production Partner for NBA All-Star

The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...

13/11/2026

From ManningCast to McAfee to Star Wars: ESPN, Disney Pull Back the Curtain on Super Bowl LXI Plans

ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...

13/11/2026

Battle in the Bronx: YES Network Presents 2026 Cortaca Jug at Yankee Stadium

Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...

13/11/2026

HLabs reveal the CL089

Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...

13/11/2026

Freedom of Choice White Paper

Download Now! To view the white paper, please enter the following details: -- First Name* First Name Company* Country* Please select your countryA...

13/11/2026

Cruz Schedules Confirmation Vote for FCC Nominee Thumann-Severs

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

Yamaha Acquires Virtual Production Specialist Disguise

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

MyStation App Emulates TV Network' Marketplace

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

Blue Lucy integrates with Comcast Technology Solutions Vi...

Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...

13/11/2026

Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max

Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max Brie Clayton November 12, 2026 0 Comments First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...

13/11/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone

Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone Brie Clayton November 12, 2026 0 Comments New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...

13/11/2026

Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music

Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...

13/11/2026

Hub: Despite AI, More Viewers Still Rely on Word of Mouth and Trailers to Find New TV Shows

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...

13/11/2026

Jack Smith Joins Madhive as Chief Product and Technology Officer

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

Operative Names Brian Beirne as Senior VP, Commercial Growth

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

Former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler to Advise AI Startup

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

IEEE Broadcast Technology Society Honors Dr. Yiyan Wu with the 2026 Jules Cohen Award

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...

13/11/2026

Vizrt Acquires Chyron

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

Samsung Ads to Offer 3 New Interactive Formats

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

HPA Retreat to Explore Changing Shape of Industry

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

The Studio B&H, Riedel to Equip SMPTE Media Tech Summit

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

Tegna Promotes 3 Sales Executives to President and GM

Share {alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...

13/11/2026

Amagi and Golden Times Media Technology to Bring Chinese...

Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...

13/11/2026

CGI and Cedar Broadcast and Communications deploy advance...

CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...

13/11/2026

The Studio BH and Riedel Communications Power the SMPTE...

SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...

13/11/2026

iWedia Brings Software-First DRAM Optimization to Android...

iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...

13/11/2026

Apple HomeView available today - UPDATE - Posted on 13 November 2026

Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...

13/11/2026

How AI Is Helping Care Teams Get Patients the Right Care, Sooner

From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients. Health systems and startups...

12/11/2026

The Software-Defined Shift: A Discussion on the Technologies Reshaping Live Sports Production

Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...

12/11/2026

SVG Students to Watch: Addison Carnow, University of North Carolina

The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...

12/11/2026

Gracenote Survey: 78% of Viewers 18-24 Want a Single Program Guide Across Streaming Services

Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...

12/11/2026

RTL Deutschland and NHL Expand Partnership, Bringing NHL Monday Night Hockey to Free-to-Air TV in Germany

RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...

12/11/2026

Clear-Com Supports Global Student Broadcast On Air 2026 With Station-IC, Eclipse HX and FreeSpeak Cell

Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...