Following the return of the HBO® Original series HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, Max and Beatport have given producers across the US the opportunity to rework the show's famous theme song for the chance to earn dance floor glory and win a bountiful prize package.

After listening to hundreds of remix submissions, the battle of the beats has concluded, and two winners have emerged victorious — putting their unique sonic stamp on the House of the Dragon title track. After Beatport, the team at Ed Banger Records whittled the selection down to a few dozen; the winners were personally crowned by select cast members from HBO’s House of the Dragon.

Congratulations to San Francisco-based drum & bass producer BERN for winning the Green Team Remix and to Brazilian techno artist Lucas Jesus for locking down the Black Team Remix!

We caught up with both artists to learn their reactions to the news of their triumph, how they made their track, and who their favorite DJs and Game of Thrones characters are.

BERN - Green Remix Winner

Congrats on winning the House of the Dragon Remix Contest! How are you celebrating?

Thank you! I'm going to rewatch Game of Thrones and watch House of the Dragon for the first time, and then I'm gonna buy a Funko Pop of my favorite character in House of the Dragon to put on my desk to commemorate this occasion. Hopefully, my favorite character will end up being someone on Team Green, or else I'll be a traitor, which I don't think the houses would take too kindly.

Tell us a bit about how you approached the remix? What kind of vibe and sensation were you trying to capture when putting it together?

I had to approach this remix in a unique way, as the Game of Thrones theme is in 3/4, like a waltz, while essentially all dance music is in 4/4. I spent the first few hours of my time on this project just resampling and playing around with different melodic variations of the Game of Thrones Main Theme to create a melody that is still recognizable but fits well in the context of 4/4 dance music.

From there, once I had a basic melody I was happy with, I decided that I wanted to write a drum & bass remix that blends both the orchestral, cinematic feeling of the original song and the modern sounds of drum & bass today. This vibe is perhaps best captured in the sudden switch from the harp melody and cinematic drums of the first build to the powerful reese bass and jump-up bass sounds of the first drop, before switching back when the Main Theme comes in. Throughout the arrangement, playing between this idea of classical vs. modern sounds allowed me to write a track that kept the original vibe of the Main Theme while still letting me inject my own style.

Name your favorite DJ and your favorite character from the Game of Thrones franchise. How would you compare the two?

Probably the boys over at Worship (Sub Focus, Dimension, Culture Shock, 1991). Their set at EDC Las Vegas 2024 was sick. Shoutout to my friends who made it fun!

My favorite characters in Game of Thrones are Daenerys Targaryen and her three dragons.

Similarities? There are four of them in total. There's one with long, luscious blonde hair. They often smoke (though the dragons exhale more than they inhale). They all can set the room on fire. They all seem like best friends? (not as sure about the dragons)

Lucas Jesus - Black Remix Winner

Congrats on winning the House of the Dragon Remix Contest! How are you celebrating?

I had a barbecue with my friends and my girlfriend. We're also planning a cocktail party when it comes out. Such a big release deserves a party with all my friends and the people who follow my career! At the end of July, I'll be DJing with some friends at a boat party in NYC. That will be my first time playing it live, and I can't wait for it.

Tell us a bit about how you approached the remix? What kind of vibe and sensation were you trying to capture when putting it together?

When I first got the stems, I first thought, "I need something that will make people remember the show," and the only way would be vocals/phrases; that's when I deep-searched the best scenes of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. I watched Game of Thrones so many times, and I knew that Hodor's vocal had to be included; I tried it on many different spots, and then I came up with the idea of adding it to the break/build-up since it's a vocal that brings you that tension feeling that something is going to happen.

After that, I felt that the first few bars of the song were too empty without vocals, and then I remembered the translation of Daemons and Rhaenyra conversation. It's such a powerful phrase that Daemon said, and it really connects to my life at this moment. I'm trying to become a well-recognized DJ, but I always had a fear of judgment and what other people think. It took some time for me to realize that life is short and that I should follow my dream. Since I'm a techno producer, I wanted an aggressive kick and bass, as well as a pointy lead, and having all that was just a matter of mixing and automating to finish the song.

Name your favorite DJ and your favorite character from the Game of Thrones franchise. How would you compare the two?

My favorite DJ is Eli Brown; he is the one who inspired me to produce and play techno; my next goal is to release a song on his label. My favorite character is, without a doubt, Daemon. To compare both of them, I would say that they both have serious personalities, they are great at what they do, and both have the ability to create moods with their public.