Underwater

Watch Underwater live in the browser

A sunlit seabed seen from a few metres down. Rippled sand runs off into blue haze, nets of light play across it, sunbeams fan down from the bright, wavy surface, kelp fronds sway in two rows, and specks of marine snow drift through the water. Bubbles rise from the sand and small schools of fish cross the scene.

The light patterns on the sand, called caustics, form where a rippled surface focuses sunlight; here they come from two drifting cell patterns whose edges act as the bright lines. Everything moves on a clock that runs with the loudness of the music, so in silence the whole reef holds still.

What it reacts to

• Bass: caustics on the sand brighten
• Mids: sunbeams grow stronger and the kelp sways wider
• Treble: the surface ripples and glitters more
• Kick drum: the floor flashes softly; every second kick releases a burst of bubbles and every eighth sends a school of fish across
• Overall loudness: sets the pace of all motion

Tune

Caustics, God rays and Kelp sway scale those effects, and Water sets the colour of the sea.

Music that suits it

Unhurried music with a warm low end and a steady pulse, such as dub, downtempo or ambient house, keeps the light moving and the bubbles coming.

How to play it

Install Deus, play music on Spotify, YouTube Music, Yandex Music or any other tab and click the Deus icon on that tab. Then pick Underwater in the WebGL presets, or press ← → on the page until it comes up.