The French rap band Hocus Pocus is back with their new album, Place 54 and a new label, the mighty Motown Records. We sat down with lead rapper 20syl before his concert with De La Soul and The Procussions in Paris.

How do you feel now that you’re on Motown?
Well, it’s great! We perfectly know the history of this label. It’s colour and history are perfect for us and the people who helped us since the beginning.

How did you choose the guest musicians for this album?
We sent an e-mail to Fred Wesley and Omar, and they really enjoyed our sounds upon hearing us, so that’s how that happened. Fred Wesley’s answer was fast. He’s a great professional and he recorded many horn tracks and many voice tracks as well. With Omar, we had more time and we were more comfortable but it’s a pity we had not met each other before. Maybe it will happen in the future.

How was the experience of working with French soul lady Dajla?
The same as with Fred and Omar. We had not worked in the studio together because she prefers to work in her own studio with Benji. Magik Malik (famous French jazz musician and our manager) called her manager and we organised a studio session, but his flute was broken! Even with a broken flute, he recorded three tracks in 30 minutes! This guy is E.T. !

The main difference between this and previous albums is the number of guests…
Yes, but it’s not the only difference. Working with so many different people means different styles. It’s the same sound as 73 Touches, our previous album, but it’s more varied. We have some African style, some Latin, an interesting mix. The lyrics are different as well. The hip-hop audience will be satisfied because there’s an ode to the great hip-hop producers but the mainstream audience will also be satisfied.

Yes, it’s particularly true on “Quitte à t’aimer”
I had written three verses and I sent it to my manager Yann and his wife. They gave me critical feedback and I changed two or three things. I’m really satisfied with this song now.

What was your inspiration to write the lyrics?
We had the presidential elections in France when I wrote it and I heard things like “Love France or leave it.” This kind of bulls**t and I realized the gap between French government and French people was really deep. I wanted to write about it.

Your stage concept seems to be more open this time.
The idea for this new tour was to have fun on stage. After the “73 Touches Tour,” some of our songs sounded flat and we did not have fun playing it. So the idea was to have something more on stage, something different even for mid tempo songs like “Mr Tout Le Monde.” The idea is to have something new for the audience and something great for us on stage.

Will you invite all the guests on stage when you play live?
Well, it won’t be easy to have Fred Wesley and Omar for every gig, but we have DJ Greem! He can bring us everybody on stage thanks to the wheels of steels. We also have David who brings us a soul and blues touch, plus a horn section for the bigger shows.


Place 54 (Motown/Universal, 2007)
Place 54 consists of fourteen tracks of soul, jazz and hip-hop with lyrics of the highest order. 20syl shares his impressions of a journey by train with Thomas Faure (of french jazz band Electro Deluxe fame) and Guillaume Poncelet (No Jazz, Freddy, Electro Deluxe).

"Quitte à t’aimer" contains the most exciting lyrics of the album with a sample of "Petit Pays" by the great Cesaria Evora. Afterwards, 20syl and his friends are joined by Omar, precursor of the English acid-jazz and soul music scene. Faure and Poncelet play horns, while David, guitarist and singer, has space to prove his vocal talents over an effective groove.

Then comes the great Fred Wesley. Previously a member of James Brown’s The JB's, he excels on "Recyclé” just like Stro the 89th key a great soul groove with one of the inventors of the genre. Listen closely to the lyrics of "Vocab" and the voice of T-Love of The Procussions come in for an inspirational rap. One last reminder: The soul/jazz of Dajla and Tribeqa from Nantes, France are also part of the album. Place 54 is an album, which will not disappoint the Gordy family and the famed Motown label.