David Eugene Edwards solo: 'Hyacinth' 11-04-24

do 11 apr '24

First solo album full of dark beauty

David Eugene Edwards is larger than life. Anyone who has ever seen him perform live (Wovenhand, 16 Horsepower) can attest to his engaging intensity as he sings and conjures the overwhelming, dark rage and beauty from his instrument.

On his very first solo album under his own name, he delivers a sound uniquely his own, with a vulnerability and introspection never before heard from him.

Support: Lazzaro

Under the name of Lazzaro, Geraldine Vanspauwen explores the intersections between poetry, songwriting and ambient music, evoking an ethereal yet physical world of sound guided by a subliminal force of life’s fire, subtle winds, dreams, desire. She is currently performing solo (guitar, tape, voice, fx) and with the bands Zemlya (drums, voice) and Sergeant (guitar). Her first home-recorded EP, The Inner Land is Wide and Free, was released digitally and as a limited edition of tapes (2022, Bonambi).

The visions of Hyacinth

On Hyacinth (2023 - Sargent House), the heavy rock of his recent work with Wovenhand is pushed back and the man's voice and sparse instrumentation take center stage. A somber beauty and world-weary tone permeates these songs.

"Hyacinth was kind of a vision," Edwards says. "A dream. I was looking for a hidden path in my old wooden banjo and nylon-string guitar. Secrets they had kept from me all these years, and created for myself a new Mythos of philosophical and spiritual ideas or concepts."

"Overall, I think the album is a weaving of ancient and modern stories, of humanity's quest to understand the world we are in and each other. In all its simplicity and complexity," Edwards says. "Hyacinth is a reference to the Greek myth of Apollo. And the word means a precious stone and blue delphinium flower of purple and pale."