This song began with its first movement “LIB,” which I created more quickly than any other song to date. I had just returned from Lightning in a Bottle at the end of May 2012 and was anxious to create more music after hearing so many unique artists. I opened up Ableton and laid out the entire arrangement and even drum programming in just one day. That first movement has stayed mostly the same in its arrangement ever since. It felt too short though, and after failed attempts and creating an additional chorus or verse, I felt that a classical movement structure would better serve its composition. I started work on a new drum pattern that picks off from the first movement and experimented with this format on my 2015 “Genesis” EP where I let “LIB” bleed into the original demo for “Cornelius Borealis.”

The leading drum pattern that begins the second movement was left open ended for years before I finally returned in and let it blossom into its second full movement between 2016 and 2017. This was titled “Afterglow” to represent what had followed after my excitement from the Lightning in a Bottle festival. “Afterglow” was left unfinished for another three years until I picked at it again in 2019 and finally brought it closure during the mixing and mastering process of the whole album. Due to its long production history and its new significance in the rebellious “Running” portion of the album, I felt “Afterglow” was the more appropriate title to give the finished song as a whole.