Lilium (band)

Lilium (meaning fortress ^[1]) is a musical project begun by French musician Pascal Humbert and later featuring his long-time collaborator Jean Yves Tola, both of whom were members of the popular alternative country group Sixteen Horsepower. The band is now a four-piece based in Denver, Colorado, USA.

The project began in 1984, centered around home recordings and informal studio projects by Humbert, mostly solo. Humbert lived in France at the time and played in his long-running art rock group Passion Fodder with Yves-Tola.

Relocated to Los Angeles, California, in 1992, Humbert rejoined with Yves-Tola and American musician David Eugene Edwards to form Sixteen Horsepower. The trio would later move to Denver. Humbert continued to record material that would later comprise Lilium's first album. By 2000, at the the height of Sixteen Horsepower's success, Humbert had finished the first Lilium record, Transmission of All the Goodbyes, released on the German Glitterhouse Records label. The material was mostly instrumental, composed of dark, often sparse rock experiments.

Shortly thereafter, Lilium evolved into a studio-based collaborative project between Humbert and Yves-Tola as a means of distancing themselves from the mild tension at the time in Sixteen Horsepower. The second Lilium record, 2003's Short Stories, found the pair composing and performing music with guest musicians, singers and lyricists, including Kal Cahoone, Daniel McMahon, Jim Kalin, Dana Colley and Billy Conway of Morphine and Edwards of Sixteen Horsepower. The material on the album reflected the pair's interest in American folk musics as well as their European musical heritage.

Sixteen Horsepower disbanded in 2005. Following this, Lilium expanded into a full band with the addition of guitarist Bruno Green and singer Cahoone, who had sang on two tracks on Short Stories. The group is currently working on a new record. Humbert joined Edwards' project Woven Hand in 2007.

• Pascal Humbert - bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, percussion (1984-present)
• Jean-Yves Tola - drums, keyboards, percussion (2000-present)
• Bruno Green - guitar, bass guitar (2005-present)
• Kal Cahoone - vocals (2005-present; as guest, 2003)

• Transmission of All the Goodbyes (2000, Glitterhouse Records)
• Short Stories (2003, Smooch Records)

• Band MySpace page
• Lilium at Smooch Records