"16HP? Originally, in 1992, there was only the second part of the name, Horsepower, as a token of our respect for horses, for their strength and fragility. But the thing is, in the U.S.A., "horse" also means "dope". We didn't want to be labeled like that, and we added "16", as a reference to an old traditional song, whose author remains unknown, and which tells the story of a man whose wife's just passed away. The hearse is drawn by 16 horses upon the hill. It's a bit mournful, but above all, it's a beautiful poetic image." Drummer and pianist Jean-Yves Tola (JYT), who co-wrote most of the songs on the band's new album, "Secret Youth" (sic), couldn't give a more accurate definition of the spirit and atmosphere that pervade the performances of this Franco-American band from Denver.

"When I first saw David on stage, I was literally spellbound by his personality, originality, and also by the way he mastered his instrument, the banjo, and played it in such a modern way. I had never heard this before.", adds JYT. David is David Eugene Edwards, the band's soul and an inspired poet, the grandson of a preacher. His lyrics often refer to the Bible; a dark, tormented Bible, riddled with doubt, if not with scourging. However, 16HP cannot be reduced to Edwards' captivating lamentations. Most of the songs from the aptly entitled (sic) "Secret Youth" owe a lot to JYT too. But still... The lucky few who were in the Maison de la Radio on March, 15th for Louise Attaque's "Black Session"(a French show based on live gigs set up for the occasion) were deeply struck by the sober-looking singer's charisma. He was invited to chant three songs from his daring, slovenly folk repertoire, and boldly combined a typically "rock" electric guitar with the almost archaic sounds of a hurdy-gurdy and a banjo.

16HP started when Edwards met the two Frenchmen JYT and Pascal Humbert, former members of Passion Fodder (another Franco-American band), who left their mark on the French rock scene from the 80's. Tola, influenced by punk as well as by Dylan and Cohen, along with traditional Gypsy and Mongolian folk and American country, looked forward to suck a link between "roots and modernity": "I had long wanted to start a band with acoustic instruments to be played in a different way: I wanted to push their limits. We're no purists. Means and devices don't matter, only sound does. If we have to use machines to achieve the sound we want, then we will. If it only takes a microphone set in front of a banjo, then we won't go any further." From the piano to the concertina and from the fiddle to the guitar, 16HP really build bridges between traditional references and a definitely up-to-date sound.

They aren't the only band to explore the new El Dorado of American music, which draws on its roots as much as on an open-minded modernity. For all the streams scattered through popular music, salvation may come from techno music (?) and country, since both genres aim at suppressing musical boundaries. We're not meaning the kind of country poured out by American radios along the highway, but musicians who get back to basics and revisit them with electric guitars: a brand new marginal, transcended country. They gave myths a new treatment, like Jim Jarmusch showing the Wild West as a run-down land in "Dead Man". "It's also a way, JYT points out, to rebel against commercial country and follow an alternative path.", which seals the providential union of cowboy folk and Delta blues against "phoney accents, poses and Stetsons" displayed by a certain kind of contemporary white country. Writer Nick Toshes denounced commercial country in his book "The Roots of Rock 'n' Roll", that has just been translated into French.

Such a frenzy now takes hold of various people like Will Oldham, Giant Sand, Beck, or Elliott Smith, after trail-blazers like The Gun Club or The Violent Femmes, two bands far more influential than famous, especially in Europe. Gordon Gano produced Louise Attaque's 1st album, and everybody knows what happened next (in France, wherever you are, you just can't avoid Louise Attaque). He's now back with an outstanding new album, "Freak Magnet". There again, original folk vies with experimental music, punk and jazz.
The Violent Femmes and 16HP, two good reasons to turn your attention to one of the richest musical quest in years.

Translation by Magali.