RPWL began life as a Pink Floyd tribute band back in 1997. Covering songs from favourite groups has a long and time-honoured tradition in rock music…quite frankly, it seems cover bands often have a greater degree of success (or at least, wide spread notoriety) than some of the original bands. Thankfully for us, it wasn’t enough to satisfy the musicians involved in that first line-up…Phil Paul Rissettio, Chris Postl, Karlheinz Wallner, and Yogi Lang (the R, P, W and L of RPWL). 2000 saw the release of the band’s debut studio album God Has Failed, marking a new beginning for the melodic German progressive rock band.
2010 then marks 10 years of original RPWL music…6 studio albums, 2 live albums, live DVD’s, and this year, their first career spanning retrospective, The Gentle Art of Music. This album happens to have been released on a label of the same name, founded by the band to give them better control and support of their future product.
The members of RPWL are busy outside the band as well, with Kalle Wallner’s Blind Ego and former member Chris Postl’s Parzival’s Eye getting time and attention as well. This summer, another side project will arise from the RPWL ranks, as vocalist/keyboardist Yogi Lang will be releasing his solo album debut No Decoder. Between this solo release and the RPWL compilation, it seemed a great time to sit down with Lang and get the inside scoop on his new album, how it felt to revisit the past in a new light, and what the future might hold for the band.
(NB: this interview was conducted prior to the events closing out August 2010, including the departure of bassist Chris Postl from RPWL.)
1. Tell us a little bit about the decision to start your own label for the band, Gentle Art of Music Records.
Yogi Lang: The crash of SPV Germany and the change of the whole music business was reason enough to reorganize ourselves. With Soulfood Music (Europe) and eOne (USA) we found good distribution partners for our label and of course it's a good feeling to pull the strings behind the scenes on your own. Apart from RPWL we tried to build the whole thing also for other artists. If you think of all the solo projects: Kalle with “Blind Ego” and Chris with “Parzivals Eye”! And don't forget I'm going to release my solo album this year. So you see, the label is not only reserved for RPWL. Of course this is really much work at the moment but it's the right way for guaranteeing the freedom to do whatever we want regarding our artistic freedom.
2. RPWL’s latest release is a 2 CD compilation, also named The Gentle Art of Music. What made this the right time to put something like this together?
YL: The 10th years anniversary was the perfect reason to do this double album. A way of taking a look into the past and the future at the same time and of course the 10th year is not the end of the story.
3. How did you come to select the tracks you did for the compilation?
YL: With the compilation disc we wanted to take a look at the musical path that we followed. This is the reason why we did it in a chronological way. Listening to this side is like a time travel through 10 years of our music. It is also a nice way of getting in touch with the band for the first time.
4. Are there tracks you wish you could have added to the set, but were unable to because of space limitations?
YL: At least we feel very comfortable with our choice. The only other way of doing it would have been a box with all the albums we did! Maybe a good idea for the 20th years anniversary ;-)
5. The second disc of The Gentle Art of Music revisits tracks from the band’s career in a different light. How did this idea come about?
YL: A simple best of wouldn't reflect our musical experience through all those years. There are songs that are perfect as they are. Other songs are just a way how you could play or produce them. So we decided to do a double album. One disc as a simple compilation in a chronological order. Listening to this part is like a time travel through the last 10 years of the band. The second disc contains songs that we wanted to do in a different way. We re-recorded them in a semi acoustic way with a lot of friends. It was a lot of fun to work on the songs again.
6. Did you enjoy the challenge of making these songs fresh again?
YL: Of course there are many ways of producing or recording a song. We decided to do the whole re-recording in a semi-acoustic way and it was a real pleasure for us. So it was not a challenge but more the chance to show the songs free from being involved in a musical concept of an album.
7. Going back a bit…RPWL worked with Ray Wilson on the song ‘Roses’ from World Through My Eyes (this song is included on CD 1 of The Gentle Art of Music). How did that collaboration come about?
YL: I heard Ray singing the “calling all stations” tour and was deeply impressed. When we recorded “Roses” in the studio I had the feeling that this song was perfect for Rays voice. He was able to capture all of the feelings the song needed. I met him right after a solo concert he did in Germany and gave him the demo of the song. 3 days later we got a call from him that he wanted to sing the song. I still love his interpretation of the song.
8. Are there other artists you’d like to work with, either on another RPWL album or a solo release, that you haven’t yet?
YL: It depends on the songs or the lyrical content of an album. It is always a very special thing to involve other artist. They may add other aspect or feelings to the songs.
9. You have a solo album coming out in November. What was the motivation behind No Decoder?
YL: One thing was that Kalle with “Blind Ego” and Chris with “Parzivals Eye” already showed their input to RPWL. It was time to complete what I think RPWL is all about. Of course I also was curious what happens if there is no band and I can do the songs my own way.
10. How did you pick the musicians whom you are working with on this release?
YL: Sometimes I really enjoy live engineering without being caged by the studio walls. In one of those moments I heard a guy called Torsten Weber from a very famous European Doors cover band playing guitar and during the show I thought this was the kind of guitar I wanted to have on my album. I asked him to work together and we recorded the whole album. For bass guitar I asked Guy Pratt. I mean, of course he played with Pink Floyd, David Gilmour or Roxy Music, but primarily he is an extraordinary gifted musician. He played the whole album and so I had a wonderful band in the studio. But there are also a lot of other friends playing on the album! I'm really proud of what we did!
11. Are there any hints or teasers you can provide, or do we just have to wait?
YL: When the time is ripe ;-)
12. Do you plan on doing any shows to support No Decoder?
YL: In fact I never thought about that. But I had a couple of requests so that I'm thinking about it at the moment. But next big thing is of course the new RPWL album. Let's see what's coming up.
13. The band is playing live at Whittier, California’s Calprog festival. If it were possible, would you play shows in the US more often?
YL: Of course we would. It is always very special to play in the states. A beautiful country with a huge rock 'n' roll history. I mean, who doesn't want to play there?
14. What is the biggest obstacle for prog bands in touring?
YL: Maybe that nobody knows what prog is or people have strange expectations what kind of music a prog band plays. I still don't know why we are prog and in fact we are borderliners regarding music classifications and real prog hard liners. I think people really have to know you unless they come to a live show but that's what all bands have in common, doesn't matter if they're doing jazz or hip hop or whatever.
15. What kind of impact has downloading (legal or otherwise) had on the band? Does it change how you look at future album releases?
YL: It has a direct impact on the ways of distribution of a product. The music market is still changing and it's hard to see to where it leads. Of course it was easy to control a market that is based on hard copies of products. It is definitely a problem to control a market that is based on downloads. Music detached from any physical worth, just the intellectual property. I think it's the discussion about music and its value. But it's one thing to think about that and the other to do what you truly believe in. So we will do music anyway- regardless of whatever the future brings.
16. What would you say has been the biggest moment in RPWL’s career (live, album release, whatever)?
YL: The moment when we decided to start playing live even before RPWL was planned to be a band.
17. What’s up next for RPWL?
YL: After a couple of live shows we will do our new album. We already have a few ideas. I think that we're going to start recording at the end of the year.
18. What would you like to achieve musically that you haven’t yet?
YL: That's hard to say. We had such a great time during the last 10 years. I'd be happy if we still had the chance to do the music we believe in. And then, in 10 years, we're going to do our 20th anniversary. That would be nice!
19. When you’re not busy with RPWL or your solo music, what do you listen to for pleasure or relaxation?
YL: I do not listen very much to music for relaxation. I mean, I listen to music the whole day! I'm glad when it's quiet outside the studio. But of course there are moments when I listen to my old vinyls. Then it's not only the music but also all the memories that come with listening to the tunes. Listening to music is not only a very special way of communication but also a possibility for re-experiencing things in the past.
20. Do you have any final parting words for our readers today?
YL: We're really looking forward to coming to the states again. Hope to see many of our friends at CalProg festival and to those who won't be able to come: we hope we'll be coming back soon for more shows! Thanks to all of you!
Find out more:
http://www.facebook.com/rpwl.de
http://www.rpwl.net/cms/
http://www.myspace.com/rpwl
http://www.gentleartofmusic.com/
I won't copy content; instead I'll give you the link so you can go to the site that I found out about this at:
http://thenears.blogspot.com/2010/08/chris-postl-leaves-rpwl.html
Long and short...Chris is out, new bassist is Werner Taus, whom the band apparently has been rehearsing with. Hit the NEARS blog for all the rest of the info...
CalProg 2010 ticket reminder
Ambrosia
RPWL
District 97
Mirthkon
Date: October 2
Place: Center Theater in Whittier, Ca.
Tickets go on sale at http://www.calprog.com on Saturday July 10 @ 7am.
MARS HOLLOW Performs At ProgDay 2010!
MARS HOLLOW is a prog band from Southern California that's created quite a stir with their debut CD "Mars Hollow," released by 10T Records earlier this year. Listeners and critics alike have lauded it as one of the best symphonic albums of the year. Beginning with a foundation of early bands like ELP, Yes and Genesis, MARS HOLLOW mixes it up with later bands like Spock's Beard, and then finishes with a fresh contemporary twist to create melodic hook-driven progressive rock delivered with a flourish of expert musicianship. With just the right balance of old and new, this is a show that fans of symphonic rock won't want to miss!
MARS HOLLOW is joined by The Muffins, Half Past Four and Mahogany Frog at ProgDay 2010. ProgDay is the longest running progressive rock festival in the world. The 16th edition will take place on Saturday, September 4, and Sunday, September 5, at Storybook Farm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For more information, and to hear music from this year's bands, please visit us at www.progday.net. Four more bands to be announced soon!
ROSFEST ANNOUNCES THE GALACTIC COLLECTIVE FOR 2011
THE GALACTIC COLLECTIVE is a fresh and innovative approach to the best of Erik Norlander's vast instrumental catalog written for ROCKET SCIENTISTS, LANA LANE and his own solo albums over the years. The versatile keyboardist recorded his new CD with an astounding new band of stellar musicians from the Akron, Ohio area in collaboration with Executive Producer Dena Henry: guitarist Freddy DeMarco, bassist Mark Matthews and drummer Nick LePar takes Norlander's music to new heights of drama and intrigue as they weave through the most subtle atmospheric art rock soundscapes to maximum martial progressive metal fireworks.
Look for this wonderful band to be featured at RoSfest on Saturday May 21st as our third band playing the 5 pm to 7 pm slot.
Erik Norlander site - http://www.eriknorlander.com
The Galactic Collective - http://www.thetank.com/entgc.htm
Look for a complete bio at the RoSfest website - http://rosfest.com/Performers-2011/Galactic_Collective.htm
Compilation albums are kind of a sticky wicket, really.
On one hand, they are a great way to discover a band. One usually assumes that a compilation works as a sampling of pieces the band (or most often, label) feels are most exemplary of that group’s output. As such, it’s a great way to sample an artist without making a massive investment in a half dozen or more albums, just to find out that they’re really not your cuppa Earl Grey (or Darjeeling, but that’s just me and my tastes). The problem arises, however, when one decides that they have moved from curious audient to dedicated listener. Suddenly you are out there buying the half dozen or more studio albums, and live releases, and DVDs, and import EPs, and that single that the bassist recorded when he was 15 and in some No Wave band from Croydon. Meanwhile that compilation CD sits, unattended to, gathering dust and wondering what it did to earn your ire, when all it did was what it was designed to do…get you interested.
Over the years, the compilation CD has evolved. Gone in general are the bog standard best ofs and greatest hits CDs, filled to the brim with all the tracks we (maybe) know and (mostly) love. Oh, sure, those songs are still on there, but labels and bands have gotten smarter…or at the very least, more cognizant of the bottom line. Compilations have become almost an album art in and of themselves, and often these familiar songs are supplemented (or replaced, in some cases) by new tracks, unreleased material, the occasional outtake, and remixes of the familiar, all in an attempt to separate you from the brand new twenty dollar bill sitting in your pocket. Let’s face it…if you are in a record store, and have a choice between an album from a band you’ve never personally heard, or a compilation that features songs you are familiar with in NEW! NEVER BEFORE HEARD! FORMS!, what are you going to do?
OK, don’t answer that. Just go with me on this…the label and band are hoping you’re going to decide you what to hear what you’ve already heard in a different form. It’s an easy way of ensuring that their newly released compilation is going to appeal to more than just potential new audients…they want to hook the already hooked.
RPWL is offering up just such a release in The Gentle Art of Music, out now on their new self-run label Gentle Art of Music Records. A 2 CD set, the first disc is the pretty standard compilation/best of type deal, while the second disc is the sweetener, 11 tracks from past catalogue releases revisited for this set, recorded newly with different arrangements, different musicians, and mostly in a stripped down (but not fully acoustic/unplugged) format. Thus do RPWL appeal to both sides of the coin; the new listener gets an introduction to a hand selected group of songs the group feels define who and what they are as musicians and bands, while the long term fans, who perhaps have been following RPWL since their early days as a Pink Floyd cover band, have all the more reason to part with their hard earned dosh to acquire these new renditions.
This is the point in the review where I make my revelation to you; this is the first RPWL album that I have ever owned. As such, it is perhaps aimed best at someone like me. I have a familiarity with their music, as it gets played frequently on progressive music web radio stations like Delicious Agony. As such, I have a passing knowledge of their general sound; it’s melodic, their songs are catchy, and occasionally their vocalist bears an uncanny resemblance to David Gilmour. Guitar playing is usually emotive, with solos relying on sustained and bending lines, much like the aforementioned Gilmour or Camel’s Andrew Latimer. The focus on more tightly written, hooky songs brings to mind transitional period Genesis. And in doing this, I’ve consigned the band to sounding like a mass of influences, but honestly, they have a sound that is pretty much their own. I’d be tempted to call them neo in a lot of ways, but that’s not necessarily fair, and is a confining, ghetto-ising type designation, even if the focus on melodicism and more personal lyrics might work toward that.
Anyway, moving on.
CD 1, as mentioned, is the bog standard best of type set. For me, this has been an enjoyable listen, and I’d say that the songs are very much Summer songs. By that I mean the upbeat feel (even if the tracks tend to range toward the mid-tempo side of things), the layered vocals, and the instrumentation seems to evoke for me the smell of cut grass, laughing on the lawn as kids are chasing down Frisbees, and cool drinks under an umbrella or porch. There are some very enjoyable songs on here, and I am drawn most toward opener ‘Hole in the Sky,’ ‘Home Again,’ and ‘Roses’ among the 11 tracks selected for CD 1. ‘Roses’ features Ray Wilson, formerly of Genesis and Stiltskin, and if you’ve ever wondered how a second Genesis album with him at the helm might have sounded, one listen to this song will make you really rue the day that Michael Rutherford and Tony Banks decided to knock that line up on its head. ‘Roses’ is a gorgeous song, with fantastic vocals, wonderfully emotional guitar playing, and lush keyboards that does both the band and Wilson proud. Mini-epics are present courtesy of ‘The Gentle Art of Swimming’ and ‘Silenced,’ both at or very near the ten-minute mark, showing RPWL capable of adapting their tight songwriting craft to a slightly longer format with no loss of conciseness.
CD 2 is where things get interesting. The second half of this set is titled Revisited, and features 11 additional tracks (no repeats between CD 1 and CD 2, which does add value to the set) re-recorded in a stripped back format. I know a lot of people were assuming this meant acoustic/unplugged, and while there are plenty of acoustic instruments on display, the arrangements are not fully unplugged. Additionally, female vocals, strings (cello, violin, viola), saxophone, and ethnic instruments (Saz, hang, and undetermined ‘Indian instruments,’ as they are credited in the notes) are added to the mix, casting an entirely new light on these older RPWL tracks. Now, as I obviously have no familiarity with the original versions of these songs, I am not qualified to tell you how they differ from the originals. Sadly, that means if you are reading this review as a long time fan hoping I will provide precious insight as to whether this release is essential for you, I will disappoint.
Here are a few things I can say, however: ‘Sleep’ is a very enjoyable set opener, with killer guitar and great use of Indian instruments to create a pastiche of 1970’s psychedelia that still feels honest and true. ‘Trying to Kiss the Sun’ continues the somewhat Eastern theme, with Saz replacing the generic ‘Indian Instruments’ and sounding very much like a much, much lighter take on some of the sounds and riffs that are part and parcel of Alamaailman Vasarat’s CV. Granted, this song has vocals and AV typically doesn’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that the song opens with a sonic palate unlike other RPWL songs on this set. ‘Watching the World’ is a slower, almost bluesy track, with more traditional instrumentation and a nice combination of male and female vocals. ‘World Through My Eyes,’ the title track to RPWL’s 2005 effort, takes the Eastern sound perhaps as far as any song on this set, with Indian percussion and Hang (neat fact…I looked up the Hang on Wikipedia, and pictured there is Manu Delago, who is featured on this track) taking this song somewhere in southern or eastern Asia. I don’t know how the original sounds, but I love this arrangement more than is perhaps healthy.
The question at this point is this: has this compilation done its job? Well, I can say that it’s made me interested enough to maybe pick up an album or two, which is certainly not a bad thing. I can’t voch for the second disc vis a vis differences between the original songs and these rearrangements, but I will say I found the explorations of sounds that don’t seem necessarily germane to RPWL’s standard MO enjoyable and refreshing. I think for long time fans, The Gentle Art of Music may well be worth purchasing, while still allowing the interested and prospective new listener an easy way to sample what this German band has to offer.
CD1 - Compilation
1. Hole In The Sky
2. Crazy Lane
3. I Don’t Know
4. Home Again
5. The Gentle Art of Swimming
6. Sun In The Sky
7. Roses
8. Wasted Land
9. 3 Lights
10. Silenced
11. Choose What You Want To Look At
CD2 - Revisited
1. Sleep
2. Trying To Kiss The Sun
3. Moonflower
4. Watching The World
5. Start The Fire
6. Farewell
7. World Through My Eyes
8. Cake
9. Fool
10. Breathe In, Breathe Out
11. Bound To Reach The End
Musicians:
Yogi Lang – vocals, keyboards
Kalle Wallner – guitars
Chris Postl – bass
Phil Paul Rissettio – drums
Stephan Ebner – bass
Andreas Wernthaler – keyboards
Manfred Muller – drums
With:
Manasvee Mezz – Indian Instruments/Percussion, arrangements
Tom Norris- violin, viola, string arrangements
Conny Kreitmeier – vocals
Bine Heller – vocals
Mehmet Bayrakcoglu – Saz
Julia Schroter – vocals
Ferdinand Settele – saxophone
Jost Heckler – cello
Manu Delago – Hang
PROGDAY:
THE MUFFINS is one of those amazing bands that you used to hear about from the 1970s...after it had disbanded. Formed in 1973, the band released its first official album, "Manna/Mirage," in 1978. This would later be hailed as one of the best all-time American prog releases from the 70s and an essential release for any progressive music collection. But while the band developed a cult following on the US east coast, notoriety on a larger scale was elusive. Despite continuing to create excellent music and working with artists like Fred Frith (the band backed Frith on his 1980 album "Gravity"), THE MUFFINS played it's last show of the period in 1981 and broke up soon afterwards.
However, the legend of THE MUFFINS continued to grow long after its demise and in 1998 the progressive music scene was given a reprieve when the original members decided that they still had something to say and reformed. Unlike many other "reunions," THE MUFFINS really DID still have something to say and the band started writing and playing music again like they had never taken a 17 year vacation. This culminated in the release of a new critically acclaimed studio album, "Bandwidth," in 2001. Since then the band has continued to record and perform, appearing at ProgDay in 2001 and 2002, and at NEARfest in 2005. We are very happy to host the return of THE MUFFINS to the Storybook Farm stage.
THE MUFFINS is joined by Half Past Four and Mahogany Frog at ProgDay 2010. ProgDay is the longest running progressive rock festival in the world. The 16th edition will take place on Saturday, September 4, and Sunday, September 5, at Storybook Farm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For more information, and to hear music from this year's bands, please visit us at http://www.progday.net
NEARFEST:
Signed for NEARfest 2011 are simakDIALOG (Indonesia) and Gosta Berlings Saga (Sweden). Bios to follow shortly, or alternatively:
http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3083 (Gosta Berlings Saga)
http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4831 (simakDIALOG)http://www.nearfest.com
CALPROG:
German progressive rock band RPWL was signed this week as the 4th performer at the 7th annual CalProg Progressive Rock Festival. The event will be held on October 2 at the Center Theater in Whittier California. The complete lineup is:
Ambrosia
RPWL
District 97
miRthkon
Tickets go on sale Saturday July 10 @ 7am. All seats reserved.
Visit http://www.calprog.com for more details and to listen to audio samples of the bands.
SUMMER’S END:
The Summers End Festival to be held at Lydney Town Hall, Gloucestershire on October 8,9,10 is delighted to announce that day tickets will go on sale on 1st July from www.summersend.co.uk. We are also pleased to announce the draft day line-ups now that all the bands have been confirmed.
Ticket prices. Day tickets Friday - £17. Saturday and Sunday - £27.50 per dayA small booking fee will be applied to each order to cover the transaction fees for online purchases. Still available: 3 day tickets £60. 2 day (Saturday and Sunday) tickets £45
Draft line up - subject to change
Friday 8th October
The Defence of the Realm with 3Js and a P - featuring Jem Godfrey, Pete Trewavas and John Mitchell (UK)
Tinyfish (UK)
Unto Us (UK)
Saturday 9th October
Karmakanic (Sweden)
Agents of Mercy (Sweden)
Unitopia (Australia)
Ark (UK)
Haken (UK)
Sunday 10th October
The Watch (Italy)
Sylvan (Germany)
Phideaux (USA)
Dead Heroes Club (Ireland)
Multifuse (UK, France, Italy)http://www.summersend.co.uk
Obligatory swag:
NF t-shirt
NF program
NF pint glass
Not so obligatory swag:
Frogg Cafe t-shirt (came with the CD below)
CDs:
Frogg Cafe - Bateless Edge
The Enid - Journey's End
The Enid - Arise and Shine
King Crimson - Lizard 40th Anniversary Edition
Cabezas De Cera - CDC Live USA CD/DVD
Strawbs - Dancing to the Devil's Beat
Strawbs - The Broken-Hearted Bride
Strawbs - Live at NEARfest 2004
Deluge Grander - The Form of the Good
RPWL: The Gentle Art of Music
Birds and Buildings - Bantam to Behemoth
Renaissance - In the Land of the Rising Sun: Live in Japan 2001
The Tangent - Going off on One 2CD/DVD Limited Edition
IQ: Stage: Dark Matter Live in America and Germany 2005 DVD
The Enid: Something Wicked This Way Comes: Live at Claret Hall Farm and Stonehenge 1984 DVD
Just in this morning via the official Pallas mailing list:"Dear all,
Just back from Munich where - in a bid to alleviate the boredom while I wait for the latest work in progress from Aberdeen's 'Tuesday Night Music Club" - I've just spent a couple of days singing on yet another album.
This time I added my throaty warble to a number of songs on the forthcoming album by Parzifal's Eye. It's the solo project of RPWL bass-player Chris Postl, and apart from myself (and Chris, obviously) there are contributions from various members of the Alan Parsons Project and a guitarist whose name I can't pronounce, but who is frankly astounding. I can also absolutely, positively, and emphatically confirm that the album is a Nolan and Jowitt free zone!!! (and there aren't many of those :-) I think JJ offered to play some cowbell, but he's been turned down).
More details (and possibly some photos) on the Pallas blog page soon.
Alan"
