View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 4.0 (82 ratings)
- Date Released: October 7, 2003
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Indie Rock, Alternative Experimental
- Label: Quarterstick Records / Touch And Go
-
They Say...
The experimental avant-pop trio Rachel's fifth release is a collaborative dance/theater piece with the New York ensemble Siti Company. The predominantly instrumental Systems/Layers follows eight characters through one day of their lives in the city, relying on urban field recordings and the distinctive subway chamber music of the group to tell these stories. The melancholy strings and plaintive piano on the beautiful "Water From the Same Source" weep with a reverence for their subject that permeates the record as a whole. These mini-films feel like rainy mornings, and the listener can almost smell the diner coffee while hurrying through pockets of cigarette smoke and bakery truck exhaust. The quietly frantic "Arterial" descends into a swirl of spoken billboard ads before replacing its frenzied piano with cellos on the taut "even/odd." Carousels and ice cream trucks provide the backdrop for curbside greetings, and buzzing electrical poles warm pigeons outside the day shelter as the band nears the end of the workday. Imaginary credits roll as the solo piano album closer "NY Snow Globe" gently unlocks the front door of your apartment, leaving a trail of footprints that beg to be retraced. Like David Byrne's underrated orchestral epic The Forest or Philip Glass' Koyaanisqatsi, Systems/Layers is cerebral and human, transporting you without insulting your intelligence.
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 19 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 19 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
| 01. |  |
Moscow Is in the Telephone |
3:58 |
|
| 02. | |
Water From the Same Source |
6:18 |
|
| 03. | |
systems/layers |
3:10 |
|
| 04. | |
Expect Delays |
3:56 |
|
| 05. | |
Arterial |
1:45 |
|
| 06. | |
even/odd |
3:13 |
|
| 07. | |
Wouldn't Live Anywhere Else |
2:47 |
|
| 08. | |
Esperanza |
5:31 |
|
| 09. | |
Packet Switching |
1:09 |
|
| 10. | |
where_have_all_my_files_gone? |
2:48 |
|
| 11. | |
Reflective Surfaces |
2:00 |
|
| 12. | |
Unclear Channel |
2:47 |
|
| 13. | |
Last Things Last |
3:32 |
|
| 14. | |
Anytime Soon |
2:18 |
|
| 15. | |
Air Conditioning/a closed feeling |
3:38 |
|
| 16. | |
Singing Bridge |
2:13 |
|
| 17. | |
And Keep Smiling |
2:38 |
|
| 18. | |
4 or 5 Trees |
6:04 |
|
| 19. | |
NY Snow Globe |
2:28 |
|
19 Total Tracks, 62:13 Total Length
Loading...
Playlists If you like Rachel's, check out these member playlists
Credits
- Joe Williams - Vinyl Disks // Joe Williams - Vinyl Disks // Joe Williams - Vinyl Disks // Joe Williams - Vinyl Disks // Stephen Webber - Voices // Bob Weston - Engineer // Bob Weston - Mixing // Rachel's - Engineer // Rachel's - Design // Rachel's - Mixing // Rachel's - Photography // William Bond - ? // Rachel Grimes - Piano // Rachel Grimes - Keyboards // Jason Noble - Bass // Jason Noble - Guitar // Jason Noble - Drums // Jason Noble - Keyboards // Jason Noble - Wardrobe // Christian Frederickson - Keyboards // Christian Frederickson - Viola // Edward Grimes - Drums // Edward Grimes - Keyboards // Nils Karlsson - Prop Design // Jen Wood - Sound Effects // Curtis Harvey - Performer // Curtis Harvey - Contribution // Jeff Mueller - Performer // Jeff Mueller - Contribution // Jem Cohen - Sound Effects // Jem Cohen - Voices // Jem Cohen - A&R // Shannon Wright - Vocals // Kyle Crabtree - Drums // Wendy Doyle - Cello // Gregory King - Filmmaker // David E. Williams - Sound Effects // David E. Williams - Voices // Brian Scott - ? // Evan Miller - Cello // James Green - Harmonium // Ben Richards - Voices // Ben Richards - Prop Design // Ben Richards - Animal Sounds // J.J. Golden - Mastering // Scott Staidle - Violin // Harvey Wang - Photography // Hibba Abdul Jabbar - Voices // Akiko Aizawa - Voices // Matthew Annin - French Horn // J. Ed Araiza - ? // Tim Zavadil - Clarinet // Dino Bektasevic - Voices // Darron West - ? // Megan Wanlass Szalla - ? // Anne Bogart - ? // Lizzie Cooper Davis - ? // Doug Elmore - Standup Bass // Shawn Fagen - ? // Jeffrey Frace - ? // Chris Healy - ? // Susan Hightower - Voices // Sarah Hill - Violin // Jamie Hofman - Viola // Leon Ingulsrud - ? // Toyo Ito - Text // Arthur Kalow - Performer // Arthur Kalow - Contribution // Libby King - Voices // Ellen Lauren - ? // Donnie Mather - ? // Kelly Maurer - ? // Charles L. Mee Jr. - ? // Lisa Mercer - ? // Elizabeth Moreau - ? // Tom Nelis - ? // Barney O'Hanlon - Voices // Karl Olsen - Double Bass // Arianna Perez Rivas - Voices // Marcus Ratzenboeck - Violin // Danusia Roberts - ? // Saratoga International Theater Institute (SITI Company) - ? // Tara Schoch - Voices // Amy Sevick - ? // Jennifer Shackleton - Viola // Frederick Speck - Conductor // Maureen Towey - ? // Sylvain Delisle - Voices // Luke Hampton - Guitar // Luke Hampton - ? // Luke Hampton - Hambone
Choose from over 7 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC