American
industrial rock band
Nine Inch Nails released their fifth
extended play (EP)
Not the Actual Events on December 23, 2016. Six months later, frontman
Trent Reznor announced that
Not the Actual Events was the first in a series of three Nine Inch Nails EPs that would be released six to eight months apart. At the time the second installment,
Add Violence, was released on July 13, 2017, Reznor told
NME that he had "no idea what the last part of this will be". The final part of the trilogy faced delays as Reznor believed the original concept "felt too predictable ... like we were forcing things". As the songwriting process dragged on, the band decided to incorporate elements that they considered "exciting and risky", such as incorporating
saxophone. Reznor explained the song originated from his desire to "get his technique back" on playing the
saxophone, which he had sporadically played for 20 years.
electro-jazz, and
trip hop. Reznor described the writing of the song, stating ==Release and reception==