“How do people do that? No click, he played through it and ‘bam’”: Prince’s ability to keep time when he was recording drums was remarkable, says his engineer, but it also made things difficult during the editing process

Prince 1985.

DRUMS WEEK 2025: Given his mastery of groove, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that Prince had an incredible internal clock, and in a freshly-surfaced clip, award-winning engineer David Leonard has revealed just how remarkable his ability to keep time actually was.

Speaking to Inside Blackbird, Leonard - who worked on both Purple Rain and its follow-up album, Around The World In A Day - begins by discussing Prince’s drum recording process, starting with his quick and dirty approach to setting up.