David Eugene Edwards, singer of Sixteen Horsepower and now also of Woven Hand, seems to have taken out a patent for country-rock that is as moving as it is impalpable.

But as dark and exorcising as he sounds on his records, so genial and light he sounds during this conversation. His inner struggle with demons and God can apparently smoothly make room for a talk about himself. Only when you mention the word God do you notice how tight the so-called Bible Belt stretches around Edwards' trousers. "I can try, to the best of my ability, to follow the road or just stray away from the path completely. God will have the last word on me as he has with everyone." The last word hasn't been said too about Consider The Birds, the solo album that Edwards made under the nom de plume Woven Hand. Actually you hardly hear any difference with his band Sixteen Horsepower, which makes the contribution of the other band members even seem somewhat superfluous.

Edwards doesn't see a difference with Sixteen Horsepower: "A lot of people think that I have carte blanche in Woven Hand, but I didn't have to censor myself in Sixteen Horsepower either. Really, Woven Hand is just a continuation of that band. But there's a need for this project. Not only because I physically and mentally need to make music, but also because I can't provide for my family by staying at home. I have to hit the road to support them." That his Sixteen Horsepower accompanists decided to just chuck the whole show for 18 months must have hit him like a punch in the face then. That is exaggerated, Edwards feels. "Much to dramatic. But I have to be up-front: it wasn't the easiest decision we took. On the other hand you sometimes have to decamp once in a while, because a clash becomes inevitable."

Several stories about Sixteen Horsepower's sabbatical go the rounds, one as alarming as the other. Edwards was said to be a dictator who no longer had his wits about him, which made the rest of the band boycott their front man. According to another story they had been tired of each other for years. The sabbatical would herald a split. Edwards can laugh about it. "Everything you just said is complete nonsense, except that bit about the lunatic dictator (laughs). There are no creative differences, but you have to keep in mind that the band had toured almost eight years almost non-stop. That is very hard. Some band members wanted to spend more time with themself or their family. Making music is great, but sometimes you have to look into other issues. That last bit does not hold for me. I'm irrecoverably lost without music."

The sabbatical does come at a strange time. Next years it will be ten years since Sixteen Horsepower released its debut. That startles Edwards: "That takes me by surprise. Naturally I knew that our first record came out in 1995, but I had never stopped at the thought that that will be ten years ago before long. Perhaps we have to come out of our hiding-place and come up with something special soon (laughs)."

Meanwhile Edwards could enjoy his passion for lavish arrangements to his heart's content: Consider The Birds sounds lusher than Sixteen Horsepower's work. Peculiar if you realize that this is in fact an Edwards solo record. "I know that I'm making it difficult for myself, but I love stacked layers of music, which already sound beautiful separately, but together raise a song to another level. I don't like band who are economical with their sound: their songs sound dull and lifeless."

David Eugene Edwards seems to have a thing about hands. Both song titles and the name of his project contain obvious and subtle references: "I never thought about it consciously, but the symbolism of hands intrigues me. I see hands as extensions of the soul: your hands do what is prompted by your soul. But eventually even hands have to know their master, and that is God."

Satan's disciples are interested in Woven Hand too. A magazine that exclusively deals with doom metal even made an exception for Woven Hand and published a CD review of Consider The Birds. They thought that Woven Hand evoked a bloodier atmosphere than 90 percent of doom metal albums. Edwards laughs: "That must be the weirdest compliment I ever got. I win, while I'm not even in the category. It's just as if I've won a beauty contest: very flattering, but completely bizarre."

Woven Hand has no business in the doom metal-world. "Artificially heavy music even is my pet aversion. You can be more powerful by playing modestly and by being vague wittingly. Music that examines death and perdition in a cartoon like way doesn't come across authentic. Undoubtedly the metal-musicians' intentions are pure, but the execution makes it all rather banal."

Edwards himself prefers Joy Division's night-darkness: "We covered 'Day of The Lords' because that song brought about so much. Whether you love that music or whether you hate it: that song makes everyone feel uncomfortable. I just had to undertake it."

Edwards claims he can't write merry songs: "It's in my nature to look for the darkness and fight it. That is very tiring, because my mind begs me to do what God wishes me to do: to search for the light. But I love melancholic music and I want to experience everything on stage as intense as possible. The music carries me there, so to speak. (laughs) Indeed, I don't really have a say during my concert."

On Thursday November 4th David Eugene Edwards is on stage solo at the Music In Mind festival. The concert starts at 20.00 o'clock at the Bruges Concertgebouw.