Lo-fi producer, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist Nathan Kawanishi was looking for a new challenge after the breakout success of Nostalgia, his debut LP with Nettwerk Music Group. Nostalgia, a pandemic project that reflected on his time in Japan, rocketed Kawanishi from rising producer to an important new voice in lo-fi hip hop. Kawanishi could have leaned into the shimmering, blissed-out sound of Nostalgia, but instead he pushed himself to explore every corner of the lo-fi space. Inspired by the Hegelian concept of thesis and antithesis, he created a two-part concept album. Iconoclasm (Thesis) (11/25/22), and Splashes of Ink (Antithesis) (3/10/23) represent yet another creative leap into the unknown for Kawanishi. The two-part album is the biggest insight into Kawanishi’s taste and personality yet. Now, stepping into new territory with a series of eclectic tracks, Nathan leans into the world of folk singer/songwriting, handling production duties and vocal duties. "This EP is about change," says Nathan. "It’s fundamentally about ideas and concepts, though I wrote much of it as if speaking to another person. I think our human aversion to change is fascinating, probably because I am weirdly drawn to fundamental shifts in whatever notions I hold. I wish I could attribute it to some form of open-mindedness, but I think it has more to do with mere boredom and inability to find anything convincing or engaging enough to fully commit to. I don’t know, I just make music." About focus track "Soul/Skin", in Nathan's own words: "I wrote this in 2021 when I was thinking through the mutability and open-ended nature of my epistemology and general outlook on things. I tried to touch on some pretty standard ideas like impermanence, the illusion of the self, uncertainty as a rational conclusion, and faith (or lack thereof)— while doing so in a way that felt interesting and candid." About additional track "Fade", in Nathan's own words: "This song’s a bit of a sequel to “Apparition”. I think that thoughtfully melancholic writing is the most interesting, but it’s not reflective of my actual disposition most of the time. I’m trying to push myself to write songs (like this one) that feel more in line with my typically positive outlook, without ending up with something that feels cheap or tacky."