Along with being a co-founder of short-lived 2000s punk band Test Icicles, Sam Mehran created a massive body of work under various names, both solo and in frequent collaborations with other artists. He prolifically released chillwave and lo-fi pop material under various monikers like Outer Limits Recordings, Blues Runner, Matrix Metals, and more. Mehran also lent his talents to recordings from Ducktails, Raw Thrills, Puro Instinct, and multiple other releases he either played on or produced. Before his death in 2018, Mehran had been working toward a new album of solo material, and some of that material was compiled for the 2021 posthumous release Cold Brew, the first project released under his legal name.