Formed in 2010 from the ashes of several prominent Winnipeg bands, Royal Canoe came together around the songs of frontman Matt Peters, counting acts like OutKast, Beck, and the Knife among their early influences. Along with guitarist Bucky Driedger, keyboardist Matt Schellenberg, bassist Brendan Berg, and dueling drummers Derek Allard and Michael Jordan, Peters and his crew recorded their debut, Co-Op Mode, which was released by Canadian indie Head in the Sand Records. A national tour introduced audiences to Royal Canoe's dynamic stage presence and complex, hooky sound, and in 2012 they followed up with the Extended Play EP.

Their second LP, 2013's Today We're Believers, put them on the map, reaching number 19 on the Canadian National Alternative chart and netting them a Juno nomination. Major festival appearances and national and international tours with Alt-J, Bombay Bicycle Club, and Of Montreal followed as their momentum continued to build. In an unusual twist, their next project would be a tribute of sorts to one of their heroes, as they recorded an interpretation of Beck's 2012 sheet music-only collection, Song Reader, in 2014. For their third album, Royal Canoe enlisted co-producer Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley), who helped them continue to expand their genre-mashing musical palette on 2016's Something Got Lost Between Here and the Orbit. ~ Timothy Monger