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.
Spring of Freedom
RPWL Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Down by the sea
Where mountains come out of the sky
All the kids laughing and playing around
When fire burned down the horizon
Now all the forgotten are standing in line
They missed the train to the high lands
Still keep the secrets of freedom
Mountains come out of the sky
And they are standing there
Rivers of green floating down to become
The source of freedom
When they had their windows
Wide waiting for the rain
Watching TV, waiting for a day to come
Do the leaves of green stay greener
Than in autumn
Bringing out visions
Of long forgotten yesterdays
Living our life like flowers in concrete
The sun doesn't shine anymore
So come on and open the door
Revealing the dreams
Dreamed once on this place
Mountains come out of the sky
And they are standing there
Rivers of green floating down to become
The source of freedom
When they had their windows
Wide waiting for the rain
Watching TV, waiting for the day to come
The song "Spring of Freedom" by RPWL is a lyrically rich and introspective piece that explores themes of nostalgia, lost opportunities, and the longing for freedom. The opening lines of the song, "The kingdom was far away, Down by the sea, Where mountains come out of the sky," sets the tone for a surreal and dreamlike place, perhaps a metaphorical utopia that the singer longs to get back to. The image of the laughing children and the burning horizon creates a sense of idyllic innocence contrasted with impending doom.
As the song progresses, the lyrics suggest that the forgotten individuals missed an opportunity to leave the city and find freedom in the mountains and rivers of green. They are standing in line, waiting for something that may never come, yearning for a sense of liberation. The image of "rivers of green floating down to become the source of freedom" is a poignant metaphor for the transformative power of nature.
The lines "Living our life like flowers in concrete, The sun doesn't shine anymore, So come on and open the door, Revealing the dreams Dreamed once on this place" are a powerful and evocative call to action. They suggest that we need to find a way to break free from the confines of our daily lives and reconnect with the dreams we had when we were younger. The song ultimately explores the need for freedom and the ways in which we can find it in unexpected places.
Line by Line Meaning
The kingdom was far away
The place of freedom was a distant land
Down by the sea
Close to the ocean waters
Where mountains come out of the sky
In a place where mountain ranges seem to touch the sky in the horizon
All the kids laughing and playing around
The youth were happily enjoying their lives in the moment
When fire burned down the horizon
When a disastrous event destroyed the beauty of the horizon
Now all the forgotten are standing in line
Those left behind are queuing up in hopelessness
They missed the train to the high lands
They missed their chance to reach a place of freedom
Where rivers of green under skies of blue
Where lush-green streams flow under a clear blue sky
Still keep the secrets of freedom
The higher land holds the key to freedom
Do the leaves of green stay greener
Do the happy times of freedom last longer
Than in autumn
Than the season of change
Bringing out visions
Recalling memories of the past
Of long forgotten yesterdays
Of the distant past that everyone has forgotten
Living our life like flowers in concrete
Living through life even in harsh and oppressive circumstances
The sun doesn't shine anymore
There is no hope and positivity left
So come on and open the door
Take the opportunity to break free
Revealing the dreams
Discovering the aspirations
Dreamed once on this place
That once used to be the dreamland
Mountains come out of the sky
The mountains mark the gateway to freedom
And they are standing there
The mountains stand tall and majestic
Rivers of green floating down to become
The green rivers flowing down to become
The source of freedom
The overriding path to freedom
When they had their windows
When the people were staring out the open windows
Wide waiting for the rain
In anticipation of the needed change
Watching TV, waiting for the day to come
When everyone was so hopeless that they mindlessly watched TV in desperation
Contributed by Jonathan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.