Mike Oldfield's AMAROK REMAKE (STUDIO RECORDING BY GUS FOGLE AND JASON MILLER)

I first attempted to record a full studio remake of Amarok back in late 2011 during rehearsals for the live performance Jason Miller and I would eventually give in April 2012. It soon became evident that I was in well over my head. I recorded a very stilted arrangement of the opening 15 minutes and shortly deleted all evidence of what I'd done. The piece was too dense, the mix was too complex, and I didn't have the studio chops at the time to execute the task required.

I abandoned the project to focus on our stripped back live arrangement of Amarok for piano and bass. Our performance was a success. As a young, insecure, arrogant 21 year old at the time, I was pleased with what we'd achieved- arranging and performing all in one go a piece that not even Mike himself had attempted live.

Reflecting back on that single performance over a period of many years, despite our best efforts, it is obvious that a lot of things weren't executed well. Completely disregarding the terrible audio and video quality, we played A LOT of wrong notes, mostly due to performance anxiety. Tempos took off wildly out of control, and dynamics were disregarded entirely. I've always been very humbled by the generally very positive response to our live performance of Amarok from viewers around the world who are still discovering it on YouTube even today.

I've felt a nagging sense of unfinished business with Amarok ever since we played that final note onstage and I dramatically bowed my head in feigned exhaustion. I've periodically felt the call to return to Amarok, in some form or another. Every year or so over the past decade, I would think of the piece and consider the best way to revisit that album I'd loved so dearly. Perform it live again? Already did it once. Record it in the studio? Tried it once and failed miserably.

Still, the idea wouldn't leave me, so I started by revisiting Ryan's original transcription, and did a close read-through of the score while listening to the original album. I was unable to shake the idea of doing a remake of Amarok exclusively using keyboard instruments (if it wasn't already obvious- I'm a pianist. I don't play string instruments). Over a period of weeks, the direction of the sound design for the Amarok remake began to take place, using lots of old synthesizers- MiniMoog, Prophet 5, Oberheim OBX/8/XA, DX7, Roland Jupiter, etc.

In keeping with how Mike recorded the original album, I played every single part (other than Jason's bass lines, which he recorded while I played the part of recording engineer) one at a time by hand, in real time, utilizing multiple tracks (23 to be exact). No studio manipulation or time correction was allowed to account for human error, so there's still plenty of that to be heard on this new version. It was a tremendous amount of work not only arranging and recording the piece, but mixing it properly. Easily the most complex mix I've ever worked on. I could probably spend another 6 months just remixing it endlessly, but its time to move on.

Lastly, I just want to say that it would be completely useless to record it EXACTLY as it sounds on Mike's original version, because the original will ALWAYS be the best. Think of my version as an "alternative" to the original. Those of us who love Amarok have heard it a countless number of times. Listen to my version if you want to hear Amarok through another lens, with a few unexpected twists and turns along the way. For nearly 35 years, there's basically only ever been the ONE version of Amarok- Mike's. If you're up for something a little different, try listening to my re-make. I hope at worst, it reminds you of how good the original version is, and at best, that it will help you to hear Amarok in new ways you hadn't experienced prior.

This was one of the most rewarding projects I've ever done, and I've learned a tremendous amount in revisiting Amarok. I'm happy to say, for better or worse, I feel a sense of closure with the piece now. I'm ready to move on. We did our best.
-Gus Fogle

For those interested obtaining a copy of the score of my arrangement of Amarok, please email any inquiries to [email protected]. I'm happy to share.