With their debut CD "God Has Failed" in September 2000, RPWL was greeted on all sides with great enthusiasm. Praise and excellent reviews in all the important magazines. A hugely successful tour through half of Europe and appearances at many of the major festivals. In addition, RPWL has become an appreciated part of the Progressive/Symphonic rock scene. In 2000, some of the most important and influential Scene magazines graded the band on the world-wide popularity scale under the TOP 3!
In spring 2002, RPWL released their second album "Trying to Kiss The Sun". What began in 1997 as a Pink Floyd cover band, named Violet District, has in the meantime developed into an effective band in its own right. The music is still typically "RPWL" and without question, belongs to the symphonic rock scene. With a well-thought out collage of sound and tone, haunting melodies and poetic texts that get under the skin and are not easily forgotten, together with a Brit-pop rock mood - RPWL has made significant steps towards their own style of music with this second album. Whether enjoyed live or on CD, the songs sometimes sound a little raw but in that they have a very sensitive and personal tone, are not only a pleasure to listen to but at times can raise the hair on your head!
Backed-up by a unique Quadrophonic-System, every concert becomes a very special experience! There were numerous opportunities to experience RPWL live at stage: The Band went on tour through out Germany and half of Europe.
Meanwhile RPWL has won their fans' favour world-wide. So it's not surprising that, in July 2002, "Trying to kiss the sun" was released in the USA as well. In December 2001 the Brazilian people have already released the "God Has Failed" album.
Motivated by their latest success the band has released a very special album (in Germany and in the USA): "STOCK - A collection of previously unreleased material". Additionally for all hi-fi fans they have mixed the "STOCK" songs in the most modern way of listening to music: 5.1 Surround-Sound. Obviously it has suggested itself to transmit the Quadrophonic-Sound from concert stage to the people's familiar living-room. So the "STOCK" album is published as a digi-pack with one conventional CD and one DVD with the surround mix (Dolby/DTS) plus a tour- and history-video of RPWL. The release of "STOCK" was on 10th February 2003 (Europe and USA). The press has payed a great tribute to this album therefore the following tour through Europe, started on 13th March 2003, has been entirely successful. In 2003, as a very honour to RPWL, they had got the chance to support the very popular band Toto at the "Tollwood-Festival" in Munich.
In November 2003, for the very first time, the band gave a concert in Great Britain (Rotherham) and in April 2004 they travelled to the USA in order to play as headliner at the "Rites Of Spring"-Festival in Phoenixville/Philadelphia. In August they played for the very first time in Spain.
In 2005 the band released the album "World Through My Eyes", also available as special-edition Hybrid-SACD 5.1 mix. One track on it ("Roses") features the impressive voice of ex-Genesis/ex-Stiltskin-singer Ray Wilson on lead-vocals.
Later that year, the band released their 1st live album "Live: Start The Fire", known to fans of the group as just "Start The Fire". The double disc album contains the whole of the band's Rockplast concert, again featuring Ray Wilson on lead vocals for Roses and one other track this time, Not About Us. Ray recorded this song with Genesis in 1997 for the Calling all Stations album. This was a way for the band to pay tribute to the other main band that has influenced them greatly, Genesis.
On 9/9/2007, RPWL released the album "9". It is a compilation including 5 previously unreleased live songs and 4 brand new solo songs from Yogi Lang, Chris Postl, Manni Müller and Kalle Wallner, recorded together by the band. Those studio-tracks are representing the different influences in the band. "9" was released in a limited edition of 999 CDs and is only available from their website.
In 2008 they released the album"The RPWL Experience".
The band's official website is www.rpwl.de.
Karlheinz Wallner has a solo project, Blind Ego.
Sleep
RPWL Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Scent of sandalwood and jasmine, a goddess with a silver skin
I am painting all your flowers, I'm the shadow of your dream
Who changed your opium to money shiva calls your name,
Why don't you sleep?
You're not worth a passing glance, I'm the picture in your mind
Who can feel the wind blows gently sparkling dust over the land
Who changed your opium to money shiva calls again,
Why don't you sleep?
And all our dreams are rushing to the river
The river that has always flowed
When maya comes and sets our hearts on fire
Our dreams will show the way back home
Lighter than a tuft of feathers, dancing with the rays of light
Digging oceans with my fingers, patterns carved into the sky
The creation of the earth is in my sight which no one's seen before
Sparkles of awakening knowledge shiva calls your name,
Why don't you sleep?
And all our dreams are rushing to the river
The river that has always flowed
When maya comes and sets our hearts on fire
Frightened and weeping
I read my name on a tombstone in a graveyard I don't know
In another dimension sitting with a pale face
On the hill of the dead!
The clouds all painted pink
Me wrapped in white cotton, nobody can see me at all
The letters of my name, iridescent and melting in the sun
Unsatisfied and restless, seeking in wrong places
Wading through a sea of my desires
When I burned away my bonds
I knew that I could not remain the same!
I left a fragment of my soul
Knotted in a tree top as a present for the endless universe
My form is full of light
As I'm going to the woods to find myself again
All the good, all the bad
All the pleasure, all the pain
All the yearnings of the brave,
All the sun and all the rain
All the beauty, all the dirt
All the love and all the hate
All the laughing, all lamenting, the acceptance of our fate
All illusions that we have,
All our secret fairytales,
Are doomed to slow decay; are flowing down the stream.
So come and kiss my silver skin while I paint pictures in your mind
The lyrics of RPWL's song "Sleep" are full of metaphors and references to mythology that create a dreamlike atmosphere. The first stanza introduces the image of a desert at night, where the newborn moon acts as a cradle and a goddess with silver skin appears, surrounded by sandalwood and jasmine. The singer identifies himself as the shadow of the dream that is being painted with flowers, alluding to the transitory and elusive nature of dreams. Suddenly, the voice of Shiva, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, is heard, questioning why the dreamer doesn't sleep. The lyrics suggest that there might be a connection between the dream world and a deeper spiritual realm that can be accessed only through sleep.
The second stanza describes the singer's ability to alter reality through perception. He claims that a stone is not a stone until he gives it meaning, and implies that he has knowledge that surpasses what anyone has seen before. Again, the voice of Shiva calls, urging the dreamer to sleep. The chorus repeats the idea that all dreams are linked to a river that has "always flowed," implying that the dream world is a reflection of a greater cosmic continuum. When Maya, the personification of illusion and worldly desires in Hindu philosophy, "sets our hearts on fire," the dreams can guide us back to our true home.
The third and last stanza adds a note of unease and uncertainty to the mystical tone of the song. The singer describes a scene where he is confronted with his own mortality, as he reads his name on a tombstone in an unknown graveyard. He then shifts to a different dimension, where he is sitting on the hill of the dead with a pale face. The imagery becomes more surreal and symbolic, with clouds painted in pink and the singer wrapped in white cotton that renders him invisible to others. The lyrics suggest that the dreamer's search for meaning is a never-ending process that requires abandoning old attachments and leaving fragments behind, while retaining a sense of lightness and optimism.
Line by Line Meaning
The new born moon seems like a cradle, shining on the desert sand
The new moon looks like a cradle and it shines on the sand in the desert
Scent of sandalwood and jasmine, a goddess with a silver skin
A goddess with silver skin smells like sandalwood and jasmine
I am painting all your flowers, I'm the shadow of your dream
I paint all of the flowers in your dreams and I am like a shadow to them
Who changed your opium to money shiva calls your name,
Why don't you sleep?
Why can't you sleep? Shiva keeps calling your name since someone has changed your opium to money
You're not worth a passing glance, I'm the picture in your mind
You're not even worth looking at, but I am the picture that stays in your mind
Who can feel the wind blows gently sparkling dust over the land
Who can feel the gentle wind blowing sparkling dust upon the land
A stone is not a stone until I tell you what it's supposed to be
A stone isn't really a stone until I tell you what it actually is
And all our dreams are rushing to the river
The river that has always flowed
All of our dreams are flowing to the river that has been flowing forever
When maya comes and sets our hearts on fire
Our dreams will show the way back home
When Maya sets our hearts on fire, our dreams will guide us back home
Lighter than a tuft of feathers, dancing with the rays of light
I am light like a tuft of feathers, dancing with the rays of light
Digging oceans with my fingers, patterns carved into the sky
I dig oceans with my fingers and carve patterns into the sky
The creation of the earth is in my sight which no one's seen before
I can see the creation of the earth in a way that no one has ever seen before
Sparkles of awakening knowledge shiva calls your name,
Why don't you sleep?
Shiva keeps calling your name while trying to awaken your knowledge, but you still can't sleep
Frightened and weeping
I read my name on a tombstone in a graveyard I don't know
I'm scared and crying because I read my name on a tombstone in a graveyard I don't recognize
In another dimension sitting with a pale face
On the hill of the dead!
I am sitting with a pale face in another dimension on a hill where the dead lie
The clouds all painted pink
Me wrapped in white cotton, nobody can see me at all
The pink clouds and me wrapped in white cotton cannot be seen by anyone
The letters of my name, iridescent and melting in the sun
The letters of my name are melting in the sun and they're iridescent
Unsatisfied and restless, seeking in wrong places
Wading through a sea of my desires
I am unsatisfied and restless, searching in the wrong places and facing the desires in front of me
When I burned away my bonds
I knew that I could not remain the same!
I realize I will no longer be the same anymore once I have broken free from my bonds
I left a fragment of my soul
Knotted in a tree top as a present for the endless universe
I left a part of my soul tied in a tree top as a gift for the boundless universe
My form is full of light
As I'm going to the woods to find myself again
I am radiating light as I head to the woods to find myself once more
All the good, all the bad
All the pleasure, all the pain
All the yearnings of the brave,
All the sun and all the rain
Everything- the good, bad, pain, pleasure, yearnings of the brave, the sun, and the rain- is included
All the beauty, all the dirt
All the love and all the hate
All the laughing, all lamenting, the acceptance of our fate
The contentment or lamenting of our fate is everything- from love, beauty, hate- and includes even dirt
All illusions that we have,
All our secret fairytales,
Are doomed to slow decay; are flowing down the stream.
All of our illusions and secrets made are unmasking and slowly fading, and they all flow away down the stream
So come and kiss my silver skin while I paint pictures in your mind
Come and give me a kiss while I paint vivid pictures in your mind
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: EARL LEBIEG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind