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.
Who Do You Think We Are
RPWL Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We both thought that we'll be back some day
But now you're out of my reach
Not the slightest trace of you
We thought we'll always win
But now we lose
Who do you think we are?
But the shades of our past
Someday, somehow
I guess the chase is over
Let's stop for a while
And dream again
We both know the sun with rise again
We both thought that it'd never end
But somewhere deep inside
Life has got a bitter taste
When not a single friend
Is here to stay
Who do you think we are?
There's nothing left
But the shades of our past
Someday, somehow
I guess the chase is over
Let's stop for a while
And dream again
Who do you think we are?
Who do you think we are
But the shades of our past?
(Someday, somehow)
I guess the chase is over
Let's stop for a while
And dream again
The lyrics of "Who Do You Think We Are" by RPWL are about the disillusionment of two individuals who had dreams and aspirations in the past, but now find themselves feeling lost and alone. The singer refers to a time when they both thought they would return to their dreams, but unfortunately, one of them is no longer in reach. The loss of this person has resulted in a sense of defeat as they reflect on their past and the things they thought they would achieve.
The song's lyrical content then questions their identity as individuals - "Who do you think we are?" - as they struggle to see beyond the shadows of their past. However, the singer acknowledges that life is not over, and while bitter experiences have left a bad taste in their mouth, they still have hope that they can dream again.
The song's message is one of perseverance and not giving up on one's dreams, even when faced with obstacles. It is a reminder that setbacks are only temporary and it is possible to find happiness and purpose again.
Line by Line Meaning
We both know we dreamed our life away
We acknowledge that we spent a lot of time dreaming and not taking action to make those dreams a reality.
We both thought that we'll be back some day
We believed that we would eventually return to where we started and reclaim what we left behind.
But now you're out of my reach
Unfortunately, we've grown too distant from each other and cannot easily reconnect.
Not the slightest trace of you
I have not seen or heard from you in a long time, and cannot find any indication of your whereabouts or status.
We thought we'll always win
We had an unrealistic expectation that we would never experience loss or failure.
But now we lose
Things did not go as planned, and we have suffered defeat or disappointment.
Who do you think we are?
What is our true identity or purpose in life, and how have our experiences shaped us?
There's nothing left
We have reached a point where we feel like we have exhausted our options and resources.
But the shades of our past
All we have left are memories and remnants of our past experiences.
Someday, somehow
In the future, under unknown circumstances, things may change and improve for us.
I guess the chase is over
I think it's time for us to stop pursuing our goals relentlessly and pursue happiness and contentment instead.
Let's stop for a while
We should take a break from our tireless efforts to pursue our dreams and reflect on what we really want.
And dream again
After we've rested and reevaluated our priorities, we can start envisioning new possibilities for ourselves.
Contributed by Addison L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.