Pascal Humbert, the smart bass player of the most serious of all mythical folk-rock bands, 16 Horsepower, called his side-project "Lilium" - the "lily". And just like with a flower, you can discover new nuances and colours on this CD, song after song, layer after layer and petal after petal. What had started as a purely instrumental finger exercise in the first place, has developed in the second round into a solid second leg to stand on for Humbert and his colleague 16HP drummer Jean-Yves Tola, featuring numerous more or less popular guest vocalists. "Short Stories", the latest album, is a collection of songs, for which Humbert and Tola composed the music, and then invited a range of likeminded collaborators, to contribute vocals and their own lyrics. Among those ranked for instance Tom Barman from dEUS, 16HP-singer David Eugene Edwards or Kal Cahoone, the female vocalist of Tarantella, a band they are friends with.

How did they idea occur to make an album in this fashion? "We only came up with the title of the album afterwards", explains Jean Yves, "when we were mixing the record, we recognized that this CD was like a book with short stories. The common denominator being the different authors who narrated songs, their stories. Each writer tells a different tale, but I think that they are all about love - in the full sense of the word." To what extent does this approach differ from interpreting an album as a novel, for which you write everything yourself? "Well, this question I don't understand", Jean Yves ponders, "I have been friends with Pascal for 20 years now. We had to document that somehow. Sure, we have played in many bands together, but this is the first time that we got round to make an entire album on which all the music is ours. Inasmuch we did make everything ourselves."

Very well then, perhaps this record is at the same time a collection of short stories and a complete novel? It is striking, I dare say, that the songs, even though each piece has a different character because of the different singers, the total impression of the album is one of absolute coherence. How did the songs come into being? "First of all they were created over a period of over two years", Jean-Yves reports, "for instance, one song [the last instrumental track] we wrote quite some time ago for the soundtrack of a movie that never came about. We created the core of each piece with the knowledge that it would change later during recording and mixing. We had to do that, because we had spoken with a lot of different people. We then asked for feedback and their ideas and next (with the exception of Tom Barman) we immediately went into the studio and worked with them further on the song. After all, the singers did have their own lyrics and we have all together endeavoured to make the best of it."

Whose idea was this business with the singers? "I have had this idea for several years", Jean-Yves says, "Pascal immediately was in favour of it and we then started to work on the tracks and imagining the people with who we would like to cooperate. I do like instrumental music, but the concept here was to work with people that I really like and admire." What then now is, in this context, the function of the remaining instrumental tracks? "Like I already said, I still like instrumental music", Jean-Yves reflects, "but I do think, that some songs simply demand a voice, whereas others don't. There really are no further special reasons. The inspiration for all songs - irrespective of vocals or no vocals - is always the same: life and everything that it includes and the desideratum to explore the musical world."

Where there no considerations, that because of the different singers it would not be easy to present yourself as a cohesive project? "To be honest, I never ask myself questions like these before I have finished", Jean-Yves retorts, "we do what we, at that time, think is right. Questions only arise subsequently. We were very open and honest regarding the whole project. Each of us knew in advance, what he became engaged in. And I think that everybody is pleased with the result." Which probably means that the usual reservations and ego problems, that sometimes thwart collaborations in circles of musicians, did not occur in this case. How did you actually bring voices and songs together? "Well, I don't distinguish voices based on gender", Jean-Yves elucidates, "rather based on pitch and register. We then gave the songs to people they suited best according to us. We did know them well, how they work. They of course had the liberty to say 'No' - but that didn't happen."

Doesn't it appeal to Jean-Yves to write lyrics himself? "So far, that has never been a desire of mine. I happen to be writing a children's book at the moment, but lyrics, no. Perhaps later one day!" And how did the various collaborations come about? For instance with Tom Barman? I have been a friend of Tom for a couple of years. I have always admired what he achieves as an artist and a singer. He was the first one we asked and he did a hell of a job. It all went by mail and it lasted a year. Tom, when you are reading this: thanks again."

And what about the involvement of Dana Colley and Billy Conway of Morphine? That after all is not a vocal contribution, but an instrumental piece. Couldn't you have played it yourselves? "That's a funny story", Jean-Yves remembers, "When I wrote this piece one day I immediately thought of Morphine. When we decided to transpose it, Mark was already dead. Consequently we asked Dana and Billy, who are also good friends of ours. It was rather difficult to get together because they are also fairly occupied, just like us. When we were in Denver, we found out that they were doing a show that night. We gave them a call and they promised they would drop round after the show. It was already very late, but we managed it. Afterwards we had more than an hour of material, which we edited. I think it just had to happen this way. I would like to dedicate this track definitively to them and Mark, and I hope that he can hear it - wherever he is - and that he likes it!"

Is there actually a specific reason why Lilium's music - just like 16HP's music - is so sombre? "I always work in the same manner", Jean-Yves tries to explain, "actually there are no rules. The music always dictates what happens next. One thing leads to another and we do what seems necessary. I also think that this is what we do. It is the kind of music we like to write currently." The next 16HP album is a re-release of the recordings that finally got them signed, to a major label at the time. It keeps us waiting a short time because at present the artwork is still not finished. What signification does the artwork have for Lilium? The cover displays the painting of a ship. "Pascal's wife has painted that image. We both like her work and picked this picture, which for me symbolises a sort of inescapable wave, that will reveal something, give birth to something. That motif has a certain unavoidable quality and I think that it is the perfect cover for this album, because I think, I hope, that it will disclose something surprising."