A new take on Take On Me: 40 years on, an engineer creates his own mix of one of the biggest hits of the '80s and reveals its hidden audio treasures

Mix engineer Daniel Duskin has just performed a new mix of A-ha’s 1985 global smash hit Take On Me on his YouTube channel and, as with his previous efforts on other songs, it offers a fascinating insight into the inner workings of a track that’s likely to be so familiar that your brain has actually stopped listening to it.

In fact, as he gets to work, you get to hear countless hidden sonic gems that have been waiting 40 years to be unearthed.

A-Ha - Take On Me - Mixing on an SSL Analog Console - YouTube

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Duskin has done this kind of thing before, bringing up familiar favourites on his analogue SSL AWS 900 desk and recording his process as rebuilds the mix, adding his own new effects and coming up with a new version that injects an old classic with all of today’s sonic sparkle.

He's already worked similar magic on Queen's Don't Stop Me Now and Def Leppard's Photograph, for example.

Of course, Duskin’s application of new effects and tweaks on his SSL desk are massively interesting and capable of teaching an engineer a few worthwhile tricks, but once again it’s the track muting and soloing that he employs throughout that provide the most interesting moments. For there, amongst the track that you’ve been taking for granted, are ‘new’ unheard parts and mix elements that played a major role in making the secret special sauce so tasty the first time around.

Today is another day to find you…

The first element that catches the ear is the robotic tapping, click and sidestick rhythm that provides the track’s propulsive undertow. Solo'd at the track's beginning it’s a mix of LinnDrum sidestick on the snare hits of beats two and four, and the kind rhythmic tapping that someone finger drumming on a desk might make.

It’s a simple repetitive pattern and it’s higher in the finished mix than you think, essentially replacing the track’s need for (and use of) hi-hats, with only occasional tambourine parts contributing to the high-frequency fizz thereafter.

And while already loud, Duskin boosts its presence and clarity further with some liberal use of a Neve 33609C compressor.

Next most arresting is the sheer volume of Yamaha DX7 all over the track. The smash hit FM synth sounded like no other upon its introduction in 1983, and by 1985 had pretty much become de rigueur for anyone creating pop music. Thus there are, of course, plenty of its bright chimes, marimbas and fizzy clanging on board Take On Me, but it’s perhaps preset number 15, E Bass 1, that has come to dominate and define the track.

Given a boost via an Aphex Model 204 Aural Exciter and Optical Big Bottom plus Tech21 PSA 1.1 Sansamp, it sounds sharper than ever in Duskin's mix, and, if you’ve never really paid attention to it before, take a listen to how complex the part it, leading the melody and ever evolving across verse, lead-in, chorus and breakdown.

Add in famously fake chiffing and parping flutes and brass (again from the DX7) and kick and snare provided via triggers from the AMS RMX16 - the famous drum replacement ‘sampler’ from the day - and you’ve pretty much got the track you know and love sounding great already.

Bricasti M7 reverb boosts a second snare drum part (joining the AMS and Linn sidestick) and the favourite of the hour, the Lexicon 480L, gives a glorious wash over the chorus’s warm (Sequential Circuits Prophet-5) pads.

And special mention to Paul Waaktaar’s muted strumming guitar part in the verse.

40 years ago it was easy to roll your eyes as Waaktaar inaudibly strummed along to a blizzard of synths on his Rickenbacker, but now, for the first time, there it is - delicate muted chords and percussive strumming that boost that propulsive, pistoning drum track even further. Plus, there’s plenty of hitherto barely audible rich 12-string strumming in the chorus too. Respect is due.

It's no better to be safe than sorry…

Duskin works at breakneck speed, flipping in Pultec EQ, Empirical Labs Distressors and Fatso before getting stuck into the real gold - Morten Harket’s lead vocals and the track’s fantastic-sounding ethereal BVs.

Sounding inexperienced and raw it’s only judicious use of Universal Audio’s 1176 compressor that brings the vocals back into line, with Lexicon 224 reverb knocking the rough edges off.

And while the track's original magician (its second producer and the man who made it a hit) Alan Tarney was perhaps 'shying away’ from pushing Harket’s inexperienced vocals, Duskin reckons that by now we’re familiar enough to handle Harket’s edgy performance and pushes it higher in the mix.

Plus, special mention to Harket’s impromptu human beatboxing during the bridge (at 6:00 in the video), cannily boosting that rhythm part even further but cruelly left out of the original mix.

Whack on that essential SSL bus compressor and some Chandler Germanium Compressors and Duskin brings home another winner. And do stick around for the random and revealing track fall-apart right at the end!

All in all it’s a fantastic piece of work. One of the 1980s' best just got even better.