Sunday, July 22nd- To get more information on 16HP's very secret, charismatic frontman DEE, one should first spend a while translating his lyrics. They deal with the way he views God, love and a vast inner universe that is always sensitive to the chaos of the world.

After the lyrics, let's take a look at the men who back up DEE on stage. The American band is made of 2 Frenchmen, out of 4 musicians, which is unusual, striking. One of them is Pascal Humbert, a former member of Passion Fodder and a great friend of Theo Hakola's, who started the Orchestre Rouge, whose values and philosophy are no secret. No wonder 16HP released a single entitled "The Partisan", in 1998. To put it in a nutshell: openly intelligent lyrics, genuine poetry, minds open to other cultures, and political beliefs. Daniel (sic) Eugene Edwards is far from following the typically American boulevards of fame. Although the title of 16HP's fourth album, "Secret South", seems to reveal what DEE draws inspiration from, clichés are soon shattered to pieces: accordions and banjos are electrified and liberally amplified.

"We don't really like brand new instruments. We like old battered stuff far better. This is part of the band's essence, which doesn't mean we play old-fashioned music. It means we're fond of traditional styles", Pascal Humbert explains. To get back to the Vieilles Charrues festival, 16HP stayed true to their image of a band with a strong character, playing a rock ridden with many apt influences, among which master Nick Cave could be mentioned. The result is a music that is way beyond changing fashions and trends. The result is an album we'll keep listening to for a long time. The crowd was altogether under the spell, and very sensitive to 16HP's tunes. "We weren't afraid of playing in the middle of the afternoon, insofar as the crowd was there and provided us with the energy that feeds our live performances", Pascal Humbert points out, before handing over to DEE, who was very late for the press conference: "Whatever you do, you can't control the alchemy of the fusion between the band and the crowd." As long as he remains that humble, DEE will be a real genius in the international rock scene.