Wovenhand (initially spelled as Woven Hand) is the personal project of Davi… Read Full Bio ↴Wovenhand (initially spelled as Woven Hand) is the personal project of David Eugene Edwards, former frontman of 16 Horsepower, featuring a revolving cast of collaborators from Denver, Colorado, United States. Later again, he eventually uses David Eugene Edwards for some releases.

The band began in 2001 as a solo project for Edwards while his primary group, 16 Horsepower, were taking a temporary hiatus. The band's first live shows were performed by Edwards and multi-instrumentalist Daniel McMahon; the debut, self-titled Wovenhand album was released in 2002 on Glitterhouse Records. Performances following this record were executed by Edwards, McMahon, drummer Ordy Garrison and cellist Paul Fonfara. 2003 saw a release of Blush Music, the score to a dance performance mostly composed of reworked material from the first record. Touring behind this album saw Shane Trost replacing Fonfara.

In 2004, Consider the Birds was released on the Sounds Familyre label, who has also released the previous Wovenhand releases domestically. Edwards performed the bulk of the instrumentation in the studio; he and Garrison toured behind the record as a two-piece.

2005 saw both the demise of 16 Horsepower and the Wovenhand debut of guitarist Peter van Laerhoven, a Belgian guitarist - McMahon and Trost were now inactive with the group. 2006's Mosaic album featured more input from Garrison and van Laerhoven, but still read like an Edwards solo album for the most part. Touring behind the record saw the inclusion of Pascal Humbert, 16 Horsepower's founding and long-time bassist. Nonetheless, Edwards also played solo tours at this time billed as Wovenhand.

2008's Ten Stones, conversely, was the first record from the group written and performed collaboratively; the project had thus evolved into a proper band, albeit with Edwards firmly at its head.

Since 2002, they have released 8 albums: Woven Hand (2002), Blush Music (February 2003), Consider The Birds (2004), Mosaic (2006), Ten Stones (2008), The Threshingfloor (2010), The Laughing Stalk (2012) and Refractory Obdurate (2014).

The current members of the live band (as of 2008) are Ordy Garrison (also of Slim Cessna's Auto Club) on drums, Peter van Laerhoven on guitar, and Pascal Humbert (also of 16 Horsepower and currently Lilium) on bass.

http://www.wovenhandmosaic.com

Off the Cuff
Woven Hand Lyrics

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You seek a vision
To get your hardened hearts to beat
I cannot see in this light
I cannot think in this heat
Fingers on glass and a singing horn
The oldest peacock ever born

On the wind come back to me

Close so I can hear it
She is chosen she dances in the creek
He is love he is spirit

I was bitten and woke before the sun
The past keeps coming all hitched up together
Redoubled in a crude mind
One of their number
We bring our best machine
One to hang down from her waist
We bring our best machine
One to wash yourself clean

On the wind come back to me
Close so I can hear it
She is chosen she dances in the creek
He is love yes he is spirit

Our best machine

Out best machine
We bring our best machine

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Woven Hand's song "Off the Cuff" have a poetic and dreamlike quality that adds to its haunting and evocative nature. The opening lines speak of a desperate search for a vision, a way to break through the numbing and deadening effects of modern life and awaken the heart to its true desires. The imagery of fingers on glass and a singing horn suggests the fragile and fleeting nature of this quest, as if the singer is grasping for something that he cannot quite see or hold onto in the midst of the chaos and noise around him.

The second stanza shifts to a more mystical and spiritual tone, as the singer invokes the powers of nature and the spirit world to guide him on his journey. The use of the third person "she" and "he" suggests that the singer is addressing a divine presence or a higher power that he seeks to commune with. The lines "I was bitten and woke before the sun / The past keeps coming all hitched up together / Redoubled in a crude mind / One of their number" further suggest a struggle between darkness and light, a battle between the memories and traumas of the past and the hope for a brighter future.

The repeated refrain of "We bring our best machine" adds a sense of urgency and purpose to the song, as if the singer is part of a group or a movement that is striving to create something new and transformative. The meaning of this phrase is open to interpretation, but it could be seen as a metaphor for the tools and techniques that we use to shape our lives and our world, or for the inner resources and strengths that we draw upon in times of crisis.

Overall, "Off the Cuff" is a powerful and moving song that speaks to the timeless human quest for meaning, connection, and transcendence.

Line by Line Meaning

You seek a vision
You are searching for a revelation

To get your hardened hearts to beat
To awaken your emotionally desensitized hearts

I cannot see in this light
I cannot perceive clearly in this illumination

I cannot think in this heat
I cannot mentally function in this condition

Fingers on glass and a singing horn
Fingers tapping on the glass and a horn producing a melodious sound

The oldest peacock ever born
The most ancient peacock that has ever existed

On the wind come back to me
Return to me through the air currents

Close so I can hear it
Come near so that I can listen

She is chosen she dances in the creek
She is selected and gyrates in the stream

He is love he is spirit
He is affection and soul