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10 songs that feel like Great Waves

Matched to Great Waves by Dirty Three on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

The song you love
Great Waves
Dirty Three
moderate 39/100 intensity 80 BPM
Ntsikana's Bell — Abdullah Ibrahim moderate 80 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same serene pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (39/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

Ishmael — Abdullah Ibrahim moderate 80 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (39/100). Same layered texture.

Remember Me as a Time of Day — Explosions in the Sky safe 70 BPM

Keeps the same serene pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Measured 98% alike.

All Armed — Nils Frahm moderate 70 BPM

Measures 98% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Same layered texture.

Are We There — Mono moderate 90 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same serene pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100).

Crescent — John Coltrane moderate 60 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Same layered texture.

Anoyo — Tim Hecker moderate 60 BPM

Keeps the same serene pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Measured 96% alike.

Arrival — Johann Johannsson moderate 60 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Same layered texture.

Sonneries de la Rose Croix — Erik Satie moderate 80 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same serene pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (36/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

Automates — Johann Johannsson moderate 80 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (36/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Great Waves is more than you want right now.

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan
Blowin' in the Wind — Bob Dylan safe 80 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 7. Intensity 12/100, down from 39. Nearly the same tempo, too.

If It Be Your Will — Leonard Cohen safe 65 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 7, so it lands at 11/100 — the pull without the edge.

New Year's Day by U2
New Year's Day — U2 safe 76 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 41/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Pilgrim by Enya
Pilgrim — Enya safe 85 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7. 16/100, versus the original's 39. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Arabesque No. 1 by Claude Debussy
Arabesque No. 1 — Claude Debussy safe 66 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7. Intensity 13/100, down from 39.

Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves
Deeper Well — Kacey Musgraves safe 80 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7, so it lands at 16/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Sway by Kacey Musgraves
Sway — Kacey Musgraves safe 85 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7. Reads 16/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens
Tea for the Tillerman — Cat Stevens safe 72 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7. 15/100, versus the original's 39. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Great Waves” by Dirty Three?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Ntsikana's Bell” by Abdullah Ibrahim, “Ishmael” by Abdullah Ibrahim, “Remember Me as a Time of Day” by Explosions in the Sky — the top match scores 99% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “Great Waves” but calmer?

“Blowin' in the Wind” by Bob Dylan, “If It Be Your Will” by Leonard Cohen, “New Year's Day” by U2 keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Great Waves”?

It measures 39/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and instrumental. Tempo is 80 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 32% of songs, calmer than the other 68%. Its intensity reading of 39/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and instrumental. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is a slow, unhurried pace: more extreme on that axis than 85% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep5/10
Focus10/10
Workout2/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype3/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

1998 in context

The 339 songs we’ve measured from 1998 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 7/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity39
Dynamics67
Tempo22
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force0
Trigger load13

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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