It's a grey November day. In the dining room the light is scanty. A television set splutters a French-speaking soap. We are looking for a location for the picture that has to be taken later on. Perhaps it is better to raise the Venetian Blinds. Coffee is offered. And biscuits. Tea possibly. Or soft drinks. Someone switches on a lamp. Thank you for doing so. The clattering of falling cutlery in the neighbouring kitchen draws our attention. When we turn round again a hand is extended to us. Hey there. How are you? Let's sit down. Things brighten up quickly. On the couch with the troubadour.

For the Lord. David Eugene Edwards needs barely three words and as many seconds to describe his music. For ten years he has been the inspired leader of 16 Horsepower from Denver, Colorado and in that capacity he has been delivering an amalgam of Appalachian gospel, folk, rock, country, bluegrass, Cajun and punk. The band's name has its origin in an old traditional that tells the story of a man transporting the dead body of his wife to the cemetery on a cart drawn by sixteen horses. The most dignified parting he can give her. A picture says a thousand words. 16HP stands for Dignity. And believe. Above all Belief.

The young David Edwards grew up with his grandparents and enjoys a strict religious upbringing. Together with his grandfather - a preacher of the protestant, Wesleyan Church of the Nazarene - he travels through the south of the States where he is not only impressed by the hymns which are sung in church and white gospel music (brought to the people in the twenties and thirties of the previous century by The Carter Family), but also by the hellfire and brimstone sermons. Since that time he is influenced by a broad pallet of traditional music, both of American and European origin, and by tradition and religion in general. When he discovers Joy Division and The Gun Club at a later age he perceives that similarly. Ian Curtis and Jeffrey Lee Pierce show him the same emotion and honesty as those unknown god fearing musicians from the mountains.

TEMPTATION
A hateful fellow. A halfwit. A narrow-minded fool. A hypocrite. Granted, someone with a suchlike nostalgia for tradition, aversion to things modern - all technology stands in the way of human relations - and a towering belief in Faith According To The Holy Writ is easy to ridicule, to criticise and to pigeonhole. And then preferably not to look beyond the caricature. If he speaks about God and Satan in a calm, yet resolute way, he appears to be an anachronism. Beamed up by Scotty from a different age. When man couldn't yet fly. And yet.

Yet with 16HP he has released six albums, one by one convincing and impressive, and over the years he has build up a flock of loyal fans - especially in Europe. Not in the least because of the live shows. Modest with the banjo on his lap, pumping with his bandoneon, or sweating with his guitar above his head singing 'Jesus above everything'. There are few people who can do that without it being ridiculous. In these times of genetically engineered food, political correctness, new age twaddle and other placebos it deserves to be called refreshing when someone appears who totally immerses himself in his faith and pursues his goal without compromise: to let us know that God exists. And to live according to His example. Such a strong conviction probably has some consequences.

Doesn't it sometimes lead to tension within the band?
D.E.E.:"That can happen. You know, people easily become angry when you are so sure of your ground. Within 16 Horsepower we usually reamin at the level of loving one another, respecting each other and spending time together. I can't change the hearts or minds of people. All I can do is to say what I believe in, and behave myself in a way which reflects my faith. Naturally I want to share my belief with the other band members, because I think it is important that they hear and know it's there. And I pray for them. That's all I can do. God will always do what He wants to do."

What is your stance toward other religious convictions?
D.E.E.: "Well, I don't belong to that group of people who say: 'You must find your own way, Jesus said a lot of good things, but Buddha also is a good teacher, blah, blah, blah'... No, I only believe what the Bible says, there is only one God and one way to God, namely through Jesus Christ. All the rest is a fallacy."

So, if I understand correctly...
D.E.E.:"The rest is counterfeit, I see everything as a counterfeit. That is what I believe, but of course that doesn't give me the right to be cruel towards others, or to discriminate them. You get what you choose, you are given what you ask for."

And man still wants to be his own master?
D.E.E.:"Well yes, that was the original sin, Adam and Eve's sin. Satan's temptation for them was: 'God does not want you to eat the fruit of His tree, because then you will become like Him.' That was a lie of course. Real temptation was about control. The Bible says that since then all people are born with that egoistic original sin. That now is our nature. Each man is selfish. You are. I am. Everybody is."

After eight years of excessive touring 16HP decided on a sabbatical year. Immediately questions arose regarding the continuation of the band. Is there discord among them? Has the passion disappeared? Are faith and Rock & Roll incompatible? Nothing appears to be less true. That year Pascal Humbert (bass) builds a house with his own hands in Canyonlands, near Utah. Jean-Yves Tola (drums) has his work cut out for him breeding horses on his California ranch. And in the meantime David continued writing music and lyrics. He assembled a few new people from Denver round him to shape "it", and before everybody properly realized it Woven Hand was born. No new formula. No new approach. Nothing new. An artist with a well-founded notion will keep saying the same. Is that boring? By no means. Woven Hand's first album did very well, and impressed Ultima Vez choreographer Wim Vandekeybus to such an extent that he engaged Edwards to write music for the project he was working on then, 'Blush'. 'Blush Music' was the logical consequence. A Rocky Mountains soundtrack for a Belgian dance production.

Does he see other like-minded souls in our Old World?
D.E.E.:"I really love Dirk (Dieric) Bouts. People like him and Hieronymus Bosch tell about the Bible in their own way. And I understand that, I relate to it. In some strange way I am doing the same with my music. The subjects of their paintings were really very commonplace. What they did was magnifying the cruelty and ugliness they saw around them. By representing the depravity of people that way, they made everything even more grotesque. Their images must have frightened people, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. With the music I'm making, and the lyrics I'm writing, I'm doing something similar. I magnify things and in that way I show how they really are."

Do we need those images? Because I can imagine that you aren't crazy about people who get stuck in the symbolism itself, and who start to adore or worship that?
D.E.E.:"Everywhere around us there are images and symbols, not made by men, but by God himself: trees, sky, mountains. The beauty, complexity and marvel of nature form the image of who He is and what He is. But man wants more and more and gets caught in symbols and rituals that give him a sense of being closer to God in that way, and that isn't always the case. Naturally there are images that have a purpose, in painting for instance. Images from the New Testament, or from Christ and the apostles. I think they are all fine. In the Middle Ages artists like Bouts or Bosch used there talents to convey the message of the Bible to people who probably couldn't even read or write. And that's what it's all about, go around and let people know about Him.

When you think about God, do you visualise it?
D.E.E.:"Christ said: 'He who has seen me, has seen the Father.' That was one of the reasons he was sent, in order that people could identify themselves physically with God. Now there are all these images of Christ that have been created through the centuries. They have become unavoidable and come to mind automatically when you think of him."

Do you now see the Pope as the representative of God?
D.E.E.:"Not more than a small poor Christian boy in Mexico. I see God in every man who believes and loves."

Is that then for you the way to come to God, through love?
D.E.E.:"Indeed, that is the first commandment of Christ: first to love God with your mind, body and soul. And then to love your brother like yourself. That is the law. He manifests himself to us through love. So all we can do is love each other and be friends."

God bless you.
D.E.E.:"God bless you."