Trevor Powers, whose stage name is Youth Lagoon, began writing his debut album The Year of Hibernation in 2010. Based around the idea of psychological dysphoria, Powers tried to document the trails of his mind through songs of minimalism and hypnotic ambiance. Powers later described his writing process as "my mind communicating with me, not the other way around...it can take me to scary places but I've realized those bizarre thoughts I have don't define me." After signing with Mississippi-based label Fat Possum Records in 2011, he toured much of the following year before going back into solitude to write.