Ozric Tentacles isn't an easy band to pigeonhole.
Essentially, The Hidden Step falls into the space rock/progressive rock category.
But Ozric was never a carbon copy of Pink Floyd, King Crimson, ELP, or Yes any more than it was a copy of Tangerine Dream.
Ozric has had a vision of its own, and the British instrumentalists continue to forge ahead on this 2000 CD.
Full of synthesizers, The Hidden Step successfully links space and progressive rock with ambient, trance, and techno.
This isn't rave music per se -- it's definitely rock -- but it does acknowledge some of the electronic forms that dancers have moved to at underground raves.
Another thing The Hidden Step readily acknowledges is world music; elements of Middle Eastern, Arabic, and North African music are quite prominent on this release.
If The Hidden Step was played alongside Algerian rai or contemporary Turkish pop, it would be apparent how the East and West are benefiting one another.
While a lot of contemporary Middle Eastern and North African pop has been heavily influenced by western pop and rock, The Hidden Step is an example of a British rock band looking east for some of its musical inspiration.
Ozric's cult following will find a lot to admire about this challenging CD.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holohedron | Ozric Tentacles | Play | 05:49 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 2 | The Hidden Step | Ozric Tentacles | Play | 07:44 | 17 MB | 51 MB |
| 3 | Ashlandi BolOzric Tentacles | Ozric Tentacles | Play | 06:04 | 13 MB | 39 MB |
| 4 | Aramanu | Ozric Tentacles | Play | 05:58 | 13 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | Pixel Dream | Ozric Tentacles | Play | 06:16 | 14 MB | 41 MB |
| 6 | Tight Spin | Ozric Tentacles | Play | 08:45 | 20 MB | 51 MB |
| 7 | Ta Khut | Ozric Tentacles | Play | 07:05 | 16 MB | 30 MB |
| 47 mins | 109 MB | |||||
| 47 mins | 283 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simon Eddie Baker | Liner Notes |
| 2 | John Egan | Flute |
| 3 | Kitrocket | Layout Concept, Layout Design |
| 4 | Ozric Tentacles | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 5 | Rad | Drums, Percussion |
| 6 | Seaweed | Artwork, Spiral Percussion Gong, Synthesizer |
| 7 | Sarah Webb | Artwork, Photography |
| 8 | Ed Wynne | Artwork, Guitar, Sampling, Scratching, Synthesizer |
| 9 | Zia | Bass |
Ozric Tentacles
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |