Several of the tracks on Sound & Color took a circuitous route. "Future People," explained vocalist Brittany Howard, "started as an experiment with native African rhythms, and then went into something like a dream sequence, and then turned into these children's-group vocals."

"It really turned into each song having its own goal," she continued. "With each one, it was like, 'This sounds like "The Man Who Sold The World" - let's explore that.' Each song was transforming into something else."