16 Horsepower

Line-up : David Eugene Edwards (song, guitar, banjo, accordion, etc.) Pascal Humbert (bass, guitar, etc.) Jean-Yves Tola (drums, piano, etc.) 16 horsepower formed in Los Angeles in 1992 during the meeting between an American, David Eugene Edwards, and a Frenchman, Pascal Humbert. It does not take long for a common friend, Jean-Yves Tola, who is also French, to join the adventure. For the record, Humbert and Tola played together in Passion Fodder. However, after a concert called Horsepower, Humbert was fired and the other two moved to Denver, where Keven Soll joined the band. It is at this point that the three opt for the surname 16 Horsepower because, for the anecdote, Horsepower makes -among other things - reference to heroin in slang. The band spent the following years shooting tirelessly in the United States until 1994 and the release of Shametown , a single 7 that attracted the attention of A&M Records , which signed the band, allowing it to start composing a first album. However, the release of the album was delayed for various reasons by the label, which prompted the band to record an eponymous EP, which was released in 1995. Sackcloth的n At the same time, Pascal Humbert made his return, the band thus evolving as quartet, but not for long, since Soll was in turn dismissed shortly afterwards. He was replaced by Rob Redick but the mayonnaise did not take, and the band ended up becoming a trio again until Jeffrey-Paul Norlander arrived for the recording of a second opus, led by John Parish. This new album, titled Low Estate , was released in 1997 and, once again, the reception is triumphal. Little to get under the tooth then, if it is that the band spends several years shooting, composing, firing Norlander, shooting again, composing, and then welcoming Steve Taylor in replacement. So, no new album until the year 2000, with the release of Secret South, which marks a change to a much more Folk/Country sound than Rock. Unfortunately, the release of the album does not appease the tensions that have arisen in the formation for some time. They reached their climax in the summer of 2001 with the cancellation of the European tour, and we began to talk about split, all the more so since the members were all involved in side-projects, such as Lilium for Humbert or Woven Hand for Edwards. History of filling, Hoarse , live album, released the same year. 16 Horsepower ended up making its return in 2002 with a new album -but without Taylor- titled Folklore, but the band only signed four out of ten compositions, and members were increasingly investing in their other projects, notably after Tola joined Humbert in Lilium. It is thought that the end is near, but a compilation of rarity entitled Olden was born in 2003, followed by the band's first American tour in three years. But the group can no longer continue, and officially announces its split in April 2005 for "personal, political and spiritual differences . The loop was closed when Humbert joined Woven Hand in 2007. A double live album was released in 2008 at Alternative Tentacles, preceded by two DVDs.