The studio lights cast long shadows across the mixing board as I adjusted the final levels on what would become our generation's "Thriller." My fingers moved with the muscle memory of both past and future, though technically, neither existed yet. The track playing through the monitors was something I'd originally produced eight years from now—or fifteen years ago, depending on how you looked at it. But this version was better. Cleaner. More alive.
Rico lounged on the leather couch behind me, nodding his head to the beat. "Man, I don't know where you get these ideas from, but this is next level." He didn't know how right he was.
I let the bridge play out, the harmonies weaving together like threads of gold and silver:
*When tomorrow calls my name
Through the shadows of yesterday
Time bends like a river's flow
Carrying secrets none can know
(But I know, oh, I know)*
The lyrics had come to me in a dream—or perhaps a memory of a future that no longer existed. I'd written them thinking about my own journey, but they worked perfectly for the artist we had in the booth. She was a newcomer named Jasmine, with a voice that could shake the heavens and a spirit that reminded me of every great artist I'd worked with in my previous life.
"One more take," I called through the intercom. "This time, let's push the emotion in the bridge. Think about everything you're leaving behind to chase this dream."
Jasmine nodded, adjusting her headphones. Her eyes closed, and I could see her centering herself, finding that place where art and truth collide. This was the moment I lived for—where past, present, and future aligned into something pure and undeniable.
The track started again, and I watched the meters dance. Every decision I made now sent ripples through time. Each song was a butterfly effect, changing the course of music history in ways both subtle and profound. I thought about Beyoncé, wondering if she was listening to the radio somewhere, hearing the early waves of the sound that would eventually bring us together.
My phone buzzed—Mom, checking in about the foundation's latest youth music program. Another change I'd made to the timeline, ensuring that kids like I had been would have the resources I never had the first time around. The butterfly effect, again, but this time by design.
Rico must have noticed my momentary distraction. "You good?"
"Yeah," I said, turning back to the console. "Just thinking about how everything connects."
The music swelled into the final chorus, Jasmine's voice soaring over the intricate production. In my previous life, I'd have simplified this arrangement, played it safer. But now I knew better. The audience was ready for complexity, for evolution. They just didn't know it yet.
*Time bends like a river's flow
Carrying secrets none can know
But I know, oh, I know
Tomorrow's already here
In the music, crystal clear*
As the last note faded, I sat back in my chair, letting the weight of the moment settle. In the original timeline, this song never existed. Now it would help define the sound of 2006, pushing the entire industry in a new direction. Small changes, rippling outward. The butterfly effect, again and again.
"That's the one," I said into the intercom. "That's history right there."
Jasmine beamed through the booth window, and Rico clapped slowly behind me. Neither of them knew just how right I was. Or how much weight those words carried for me, sitting here in a present that was both old and new, crafting a future that only I could remember.
I saved the session and started the bounce. Tomorrow, this would be on its way to mastering. Next week, to radio. And then... well, that was the beauty of changing history. Even I couldn't be entirely sure what would happen next.
But I knew it would be better than last time. It had to be. That's why I was here.