"Sound of Water" is an album by Saint Etienne, released in 2000. It represents the band's foray into ambient and trip-hop genres.
The album's lead single, How We Used to Live, was notable for not being edited down from its full 9-minute length for its single release.
The shift in direction had begun with their previous U.S. release, Places to Visit, which was a precursor to Sound of Water. The album Interlude, released a year later, consists mostly of b-sides from the Sound of Water singles and a few from the Good Humor era.
Sound of Water is unique in that the band did not collaborate with Ian Catt, who had been a frequent collaborator. Instead, the album was co-produced by Gerard Johnson with arrangements by To Rococo Rot and Sean O'Hagan. It was recorded at To Rococo Rot's studio, Amber Sound, in Berlin, Germany. The band described the recording sessions as being done in an airless, windowless oven.
The Place at Dawn includes a sample of Magna Carta's Medley from the 1970 album Seasons.
