"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Deep Water" by Portishead. Calm throughout, barely shifting. balanced composition. Mood: calm, melancholy, nostalgic. Visual style: 2000s digital 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."
Deep calm, gentler than 99% of our 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for sleep.
80
BPM
Deep Water by Portishead is 80 BPM — Andante (walking pace).
Half-time 40 BPM · Double-time 160 BPM · released 2008
Fan image for "Deep Water"
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: Gentle ukulele-driven track with minimalistic arrangement and ethereal backing vocals creates a calming, whimsical atmosphere without harsh elements or abrupt shifts. Lacks aggressive production, making it soothing for sensitive listeners.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: anxiety relief relaxation sleep
A delicate, faux-1920s doo-wop inspired ukulele sketch featuring Beth Gibbons' soft vocals and ghostly backing harmonies about feeling adrift and alone.
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Moods: calm, melancholy, nostalgic
Traditions: trip-hop
At a glance
"Deep Water" by Portishead
80 BPM, dynamic range 3/10, smooth texture, soft vocals. Sits in the middle band — neither built for stillness nor pitched at workout intensity. Whether it works for a given moment depends more on mood and lyrical content than on the acoustic profile. The full sensory breakdown follows.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 3/10 places this song in the "steady volume" band. Loudness stays within a narrow window from start to finish — you won't be ambushed by a louder section if you set the volume at the opening.
Sudden changes: none. Transitions are musically signaled — nothing will surprise you if you're only half-listening.
Texture: smooth.
Predictability is high — the song telegraphs what it will do next. A sensory-sensitive listener can usually guess where it's going without close attention.
Vocal style: soft vocals.
Where this sits in Portishead's catalog
We have 32 songs from Portishead in the library. Of those, 4 are rated Safe, 20 Moderate, and 8 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 3/10 sits below the artist average of 5.8, making it the #32 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from Third
We have 11 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- Silence — intense DR 7
- Hunter — moderate DR 6
- Nylon Smile — moderate DR 6
- The Rip — safe DR 5
- Plastic — intense DR 8
- We Carry On — moderate DR 6
- Machine Gun — intense DR 7
- Magic Doors — moderate DR 6
- Threads — intense DR 8
- Pedestal — moderate DR 7
2008 context
Released in 2008. We have 259 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.4/10. This track is quieter / less dynamic than the year average. Explore more from the 2000s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Traditions
trip-hop · 115Guides that may help
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive li…
low-intensity Music for Sleep: A Guide for Sensitive Listeners
Find music that helps you sleep without triggering sensory sensitivity. A guide to safe, predictable…
The Four Things That Make a Song Actually Good for Sleep
Most "sleep" playlists are just quiet songs, and quiet is not enough. Four specific sensory traits d…
How fast is "Deep Water"?
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 "Deep Water" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
✓
Focus / studying
Yes — low-variance volume, no surprises, steady tempo. The ideal study-music profile.
✗
Running / workout
No — 80 BPM is too slow for sustained cardio.
~
Sleep / winding down
Maybe — calm overall, but tempo is a bit high for deep sleep. Better for winding down than falling asleep.
✓
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
Yes — this is a song for actively feeling what you came to feel, not for background.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
low-intensity Music for Sleep: A Guide for Sensitive Listeners
Find music that helps you sleep without triggering sensory sensitivity. A guide to safe, predictable, gentle music for ears that notice ever…
Every Portishead album ranked by how much dread it leaves in the room
Portishead made only three albums in fourteen years — and each one rearranges something in your chest. A sensory deep-dive into trip-hop's m…
Why this rating
We rate this song Safe because its dynamic range stays within our low-variance band, there are no unsignaled changes, and the texture and vocal style are both in the low-fatigue range. Our methodology uses an AND rule for Safe — a song has to clear every dimension to earn the rating.
This song in the Music Studio
12/100 intensity
See how “Deep Water” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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For calm, low-stimulation listening
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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-13. 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
This sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 99% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 12/100 comes from a dynamic range of 3/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 100% 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
Heart to Heart — Mac DeMarco · 99%Fallen Embers — Enya · 99%Thirteen — Big Star · 99%Long Long Journey — Enya · 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
Sleep10/10
Focus9/10
Workout0/10
Dinner6/10
Party / hype0/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
2008 in context
The 259 songs we’ve measured from 2008 average a dynamic range of 6.4/10. At 3/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Blowin' in the Wind — Bob DylanTomorrow Never Came — Lana Del Rey (feat. Sean Lennon)The Only Thing — Sufjan Stevens
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity12
Dynamics22
Tempo22
Surprise0
Density0
Predictability0
Vocal force25
Trigger load0
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Deep Water"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Deep Water" by Portishead?
"Deep Water" by Portishead 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 "Deep Water" by Portishead?
"Deep Water" by Portishead rates as Low-Intensity. Dynamic range 3/10, no sudden changes, smooth texture. Our Low-Intensity rating means no single dimension triggers the higher-intensity thresholds.
How loud is "Deep Water" — what is its dynamic range?
"Deep Water" has a dynamic range of 3/10. This places it in the steady-volume band — loudness stays within a narrow window start to finish.
Does "Deep Water" have sudden or surprising changes?
No. "Deep Water" has no sudden unsignaled changes. Every transition is musically telegraphed.
What is "Deep Water" best for?
In our library "Deep Water" is recommended for: anxiety relief, relaxation, sleep. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Deep Water" released?
"Deep Water" is from 2008, on the album "Third". It appears in our 2000s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Deep Water"?
We tag "Deep Water" as calm, melancholy, nostalgic. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Deep Water"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "Deep Water" 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 "Deep Water" good for studying?
Yes — low dynamic range (3/10) and no sudden changes means the song stays in the background without pulling focus.
Can I use "Deep Water" for sleep?
Yes — it clears every sleep-music criterion: low intensity, minimal dynamic range, no surprises. Use as a wind-down or sleep-playlist anchor.
Should I listen to "Deep Water"?
If you want gentle, low-arousal music, "Deep Water" is a solid pick — Low-Intensity across every sensory dimension.
Songs with the same DNA
smooth texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
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Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.