Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright died in 2008, leaving only David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason. "The Endless River is a tribute to Rick Wright," explained Mason in an interview with Rolling Stone. "His playing was at the heart of the Pink Floyd sound."

Former Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera joined the band to record The Endless River, which also incorporates old sessions from Wright. In a statement, Gilmour explains that the album "has as its starting point the music that came from the 1993 Division Bell sessions. We listened to over 20 hours of the three of us playing together and selected the music we wanted to work on for the new album."