Meet the man behind the music of Westworld: Ramin Djawadi

It's Sunday night. That key stroke hits. Your hair stands up. Your pulse elevates. Your pupils dilate.  You're on the edge of your seat anticipating what is going to happen in this weeks' chapter. Who's going to die? Who's going to hook-up? Who's going to die while hooking-up?

If you haven't been living under a rock for the last 4 months then you've probably heard of HBO's new sci-fi western "Westworld" and its haunting opening theme. Well that opening theme and the rest of the stellar original score is done by German-Iranian composer Ramin Djawadi (pronounced Java-dee). With the outstanding first season now in the books (don't worry no spoilers here) it's about time you got to know TV's biggest songsmith. 

Born in Duisberg, Germany the now 42 year old master-composer was first discovered by none other than Hans Zimmer who recruited him to Remote Control Productions after Djawadi graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music in 1998. From then on he began writing music for the silver screen for films such as Blade:Trinity and The Unborn. Soon after he found his home on the small screen composing the music for Prison Break and FlashForward each of which earned him an Emmy. Many of his productions have a grandiose feel to them capturing tense moments and perfectly complimenting character dialog on screen. From big time blockbusters (Iron Man, Pacific Rim) to epic action-driven video games (Medal of Honor, Gear of War 4) Djawadi's talents know no limits as he can dynamically produce musical accompaniment for any medium.  His relationship with HBO began in 2011 where he was tasked to craft the score for a little show you may have heard of called Game of Thrones. Due to the shows' massive success and the fact that the series' music resonates with viewers just as much as every plot twist and big reveal it was a no brainer for the Home Box Office to call upon Djawadi once again to create the sonic atmosphere and tonality of their new cinematic epic. The show's chief-writer Jonathan Nolan had worked with Djawadi previously on the score for Batman Begins as well as on CBS's Person of Interest so it was a no-brainer to bring Djawadi's chilling melodies to Westworld once it was green-lit.

With Westworld's official soundtrack now available and the upcoming Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience tour on it's way in 2017 you can check out the man's work for yourself and realize why his soundscapes will be occupying your Monday morning chats around the water-cooler for years to come.