'This is my reaction to being assaulted by information', Akinmusire says of the album. 'This record is me wanting to create a safe space. Part of the challenge was: Can I create something that's oriented around open space, the way some of the records I love the most do?'. He says of his collaborators, 'I had a feeling of wanting to record with Bill from the first time we played - it was a duo performance, very little rehearsal. We just played through some of my songs, and it worked. One of Bill's special gifts is the ability to shape a piece he's just heard for the first time. He seems to know what the music wants before the first note'.