Saltland was established in 2010, as the solo project of Canadian cellist, vocalist, and composer Rebecca Foon. Having moved from Montreal to Vancouver at 17, she became a prolific musician in Montreal's D.I.Y. scene in the early 2000s. Foon joined experimental post-rock collective Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra in 2000, became a member of Set Fire to the Flames, and co-founded the chamber rock group Esmerine. Following a European and North American tour in 2008, Foon left Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and in 2010 she began to work on solo material. Unicorns and Island member Jamie Thompson provided percussion and programming, while Foon concentrated on vocals and cello. Three years later, I Thought It Was Us But It Was All of Us was released via Constellation in 2013 under her solo moniker Saltland. The record featured a number of guest musicians including Colin Stetson, Sarah Neufeld, and Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire.

Along with her musical endeavors, Foon pursued environmental and social activism as a member of the Sustainability Solutions Group and co-founded the concert series Pathway to Paris, designed to raise awareness of environmental issues and support an international climate agreement. Her interest in environmental matters would inform her sophomore record, A Common Truth. The album was primarily built around Foon's vocals and layers of acoustic, sampled, and processed cello parts, but also included contributions from Bad Seed and Dirty Three member Warren Ellis on violin and pump organ. In 2016, she joined Colin Stetson to perform his reimagining of Gorecki's 3rd Symphony. ~ Bekki Bemrose, Rovi