The album follows Hutchings's hiatus from the saxophone and the end of his bands Sons of Kemet and the Comet Is Coming, and sees him focusing on different types of flutes, including the shakuhachi and the svirel, as well as the clarinet.

Hutchings shared producing duties with Dilip Harris, and brought in a long list of collaborators including his own father Anum Iyapo, André 3000, Laraaji, and Floating Points.

[2][3] Hutchings's last live saxophone performance was on 7 December 2023, where he played John Coltrane's A Love Supreme at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

[6][4] The move coincided with an increase in attention on jazz flute following the release of André 3000's 2023 album New Blue Sun, on which Hutchings contributed shakuhachi to one track.

[7] "End of Innocence" sees Hutchings playing the clarinet, with a band consisting of pianist Jason Moran, drummer Nasheet Waits, and percussionist Carlos Niño.

[9] It features Hutchings on shakuhachi, André 3000 on drone flute, Laraaji's wordless vocals, Floating Points on Rhodes Chroma synthesizer and vibraphone, Esperanza Spalding and Tom Herbert on bass, Dave Okumu on guitar, Marcus Gilmore on drums, and Niño on percussion.

"[10] Other musicians on the record include Moses Sumney, Brandee Younger, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Saul Williams, Lianne La Havas, and Elucid.

[6][12] The titles of both releases are connected; in Hutchings's words, they're mean to be read as "Afrikan Culture, comma, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace", with his next album being "the next sentence in a long form poem that encapsulates, hopefully, all the solo records of my career.

"[22] Mojo's John Mulvey wrote that "The tools change, the air moves in different ways, the vision evolves; and one of our finest musicians might have just achieved a higher state of artistic consciousness.

"[4] Louder Than War's Gordon Rutherford said Hutchings's change in style was done with "admirable boldness", and called the album "a collection of reflective compositions, warm and personal, and created by an artist at the top of his game.

"[16] Pitchfork's Hank Shteamer wrote that "Amid the ever-shifting personnel, it's the confidence of Shabaka's vision and the potency of his playing that leave the strongest impression", and that with songs like "As the Planets and the Stars Collapse", "you don't miss the big, loud, shiny horn, or the in-your-face ensemble sound of a band like Sons of Kemet, in the slightest.

"[18] AllMusic's Thom Jurek said the album's "gentle, warm production and unhurried playing are deceptive: These tunes, as rendered, are far more complex in arrangement and presentation than they appear.