Sparks dream: I was in their studio in a small group. I don’t remember seeing Russell, but Ron was seated at his studio workstation and working on a track. This was present-day Ron, not some vintage version. He was super adept with whatever software he was using, moving notes and shapes around the screen really fast. The software seemed futuristic, like Ron had access to software that hadn't been made public yet.
But also, he was playing parts on a keyboard and I recall being surprised that he was playing even very repetitive parts (a steady sixteenth-note pulse, say) “by hand” rather than just programming them in.
We had entered the room while he was already working, so I was watching over his shoulder. I wondered if he was going to turn his attention to our group, or whether we’d just be ushered out again without him ever turning around. The song he was working on was catchy, and I started tapping one finger to the beat. But then I realized my finger was resting on the key of another keyboard off to the side, and my tapping was making sounds and adding notes to the track! I could see it on the screen. Ron was startled, then puzzled. He was aware something was happening that he hadn’t expected, but to my relief, he didn’t figure out it was my fault.
I did my best to keep my tapping in time with the music for a few more beats and then stop at the end of a measure, so my addition to the track would sound like it was actually meant to be there. After that he just kept working and I didn’t see him delete my addition, so perhaps it will come out on the record.
