"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Mile High" by James Blake. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: introspective, serene. Visual style: contemporary editorial aesthetic. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."
Balanced energy, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
80
BPM
Mile High by James Blake is 80 BPM — Andante (walking pace).
Half-time 40 BPM · Double-time 160 BPM · released 2019
Fan image for "Mile High"
An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.
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Song DNA
Notes: The song features ethereal vocals and a lush instrumental backdrop, creating a soothing yet complex auditory experience. The layered production adds depth while maintaining a gentle flow.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: deep listening meditation relaxation
A balanced track — neither sleepy nor charged. Mostly steady, it still leaves a little room to surprise. It has a big quiet-to-loud range with just a little movement, densely layered in texture, with a light, easy vocal at an unhurried mid-tempo. Across the library, it sits more energetic than 35% of songs, calmer than the rest.
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Moods: introspective, serene
Traditions: electronic, soul
Volume Warning
"Mile High" climbs hard.
Dynamic range 7/10 places this in our upper band. The opening volume that feels comfortable will not be comfortable at the climax. If you are setting this up for a focused listen, anchor your volume to the quietest section, not the loudest. The arc is the point of the song; if you blunt it by riding the volume knob, you lose what makes it work. James Blake built the dynamic shape on purpose. Plan around it.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 7/10 means this song moves. Expect a real volume climb between quiet sections and the loudest part of the arrangement — enough that you may want to set the initial volume below where you'd normally land.
Sudden changes: mild. There are one or two transitions worth knowing about, though they're musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
Texture is layered — a full arrangement with clear separation between parts.
Predictability is medium — conventional structure overall, with one or two moments that deviate from what you'd expect.
Vocal style: soft vocals.
Where this sits in James Blake's catalog
We have 31 songs from James Blake in the library. Of those, 2 are rated Safe, 29 Moderate, and 0 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 7/10 sits above the artist average of 6.7, making it the #11 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from Assume Form
We have 6 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- I'll Come Too — moderate DR 6
- Where's the Catch — moderate DR 6
- Save Me — moderate DR 7
- Barefoot in the Park — moderate DR 6
- Godspeed — safe DR 5
2019 context
Released in 2019. We have 448 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.1/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 2010s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
Karma Police: Radiohead’s Eerie Joke About Power and Paranoia
Karma Police began as a band in-joke and became one of Radiohead’s defining songs — a queasy meditat…
How fast is "Mile High"?
80 BPM — Slow (downtempo / ballad)
For running
Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.
For workouts
Warm-up, cool-down, yoga, stretching.
For daily life
Morning coffee, deep work, commute wind-down.
Browse more songs at 80 BPM.
When "Mile High" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
✗
Focus / studying
No — too dynamic or too many surprises. Save for active listening.
✗
Running / workout
No — 80 BPM is too slow for sustained cardio.
✗
Sleep / winding down
No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.
✓
Driving / road trip
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
✓
Cooking / dinner background
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
~
Emotional release / catharsis
Not really — it's pleasant but doesn't hit hard enough for cathartic listening.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
James Blake — the silence between notes is the song
Why James Blake's production works on your nervous system: a deep dive into negative space, dynamic range, and the silences that make his ca…
The 10 Calmest Albums Ever Recorded — A low-intensity Listening Guide
The 10 Calmest Albums Ever Recorded — A low-intensity Listening Guide — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
Electronic Music Sensory Guide: From Ambient to Industrial
Electronic Music Sensory Guide: From Ambient to Industrial — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
Why this rating
We rate this song Moderate because it falls between our Safe and Intense thresholds on at least one dimension. Moderate is the default for most well-produced music that has real arc but no surprise elements. Full rubric: methodology.
This song in the Music Studio
41/100 intensity
See how “Mile High” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
Listen on
Spotify and YouTube links go direct to the track when we have the ID; otherwise they search for it. Embed this sensory profile on your site →
Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-16. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
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 35% of songs, calmer than the other 65%. Its intensity reading of 41/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and soft vocals. 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
Nude — Radiohead · 99%Angel — Massive Attack · 99%Planet Caravan — Pantera · 99%Exit Music (For a Film) — Radiohead · 99%
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.
2019 in context
The 448 songs we’ve measured from 2019 average a dynamic range of 6.1/10. 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
Intensity41
Dynamics67
Tempo22
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force25
Trigger load25
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Mile High"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Mile High" by James Blake?
"Mile High" by James Blake has a tempo of 80 BPM (Andante (walking pace)). At half-time that is 40 BPM, and at double-time 160 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Mile High" by James Blake?
"Mile High" by James Blake rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 7/10, mild sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "Mile High" — what is its dynamic range?
"Mile High" has a dynamic range of 7/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.
Does "Mile High" have sudden or surprising changes?
"Mile High" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "Mile High" best for?
In our library "Mile High" is recommended for: deep listening, meditation, relaxation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Mile High" released?
"Mile High" is from 2019, on the album "Assume Form". It appears in our 2010s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Mile High"?
We tag "Mile High" as introspective, serene. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Mile High"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "Mile High" good for running?
Not really — at 80 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.
Is "Mile High" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (7/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "Mile High" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "Mile High"?
"Mile High" is Moderate intensity — fine for most listeners, but with enough dynamic activity that it works best as active listening rather than background.
Songs with the same DNA
layered texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
Safer alternatives with a similar feel
These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.
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Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.