Dilute was an experimental rock band from Fremont,
California at around the turn
of the millenium. Dilute are often associated with the
Sacramento–San
Franciscomath rock/experimental rock scene of the
2000s, particularly alongside bands such as Hella (a
Sacramento band that performed
with Dilute on a number of occasions and did a split record with them)
and Rumah Sakit (a San
Francisco band closely
associated with Dilute, with Dilute even probably naming a song
after them, viz. “Sickroom”), as well as other bands of the scene
like Deerhoof, Ent, Tera Melos, and The
Advantage. Although they overall, as a band, remain fairly obscure (their
Wikipedia page has been created and deleted a number of times on account
of “notability” concerns), their
LP, “Grape Blueprints Pour Spinach Olive Grape” is considered a
classic of the math rock canon, and the band remains
influential to this day. After the dissolution of Dilute some time in
,
title="H–S422.1-62">vocal</data></pre>ist and <pre data-shortcode><data value="H–S321.322"
title="H–S321.322">guitar</data></pre>ist <b>Marty Anderson</b> would go on to form <b>Okay</b>,
drummer Jay Pellicci would join the [Portland,
Oregon](/areas/portland-oregon-united-states) math rock
band 31Knots, and both Pellicci brothers would take on audio engineering
variously in San Francisco and
Portland.
Dilute’s music is, in some ways, part of the style of math rock that emerged around their time (circa the turn of
the millenium) due to bands like Don Caballero and
Ent. Dilute, however, take on more deep influence
from both post-rock and from indie rock
(hence the use of the midwest emo tag here). In many ways,
the focus of Dilute’s music is on the long forms of their songs
and albums, which are often complex and ingeniously subtle, contrasting quiet
meditations against
dissonant &
aggressive outbursts against
ultraconsonantanthemic sections, contrasting
composed parts with
improvisations,
contrasting lengthy instrumental
sections with sparse (and unusual) vocals from Marty
Anderson, and so on. The music of Dilute is as much indebted to the
development of experimental rock offshoots like math rock and post-rock as it is to a
tradition of subverting popular music in strange ways, in the
vein of e.g. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band or Cardiacs;
Dilute may not sound like either of those bands, but their bizarre and
complex treatment of popular music is nevertheless spiritually
kindred. Dilute’s music can be difficult to get into, but rewards
thorough listens to each album as a whole.
notes on the distributions
Seven of the tracks on “Dilute” also appear on “The Gypsy
Valentine Curve”.
The last two tracks listed for “Grape Blueprints Pour Spinach Olive
Grape” (“Sickroom” and “Diet For A New America”)
are bonus tracks from Naked Ally Records’s
reissue, and are not present on the
original album. “Diet For A New America” is an excerpt from
“Everyday”. “Sickroom” was unreleased up to that point,
but a live version of it also appears on “Dilute - Live”, released
. “0”,
“Vs.”, and “1” are sometimes combined into one long
track, “0 Vs. 1”.
The recording of “Rock and or Roll” that appears on “Live
@ Edinburgh Castle, San
Francisco” is the same recording that appears on “Live
Recordings”.
“Live Recordings” was released by Toad
Records earlier in ,
before the same tracks were then reissued later that year as the bonus CD of
Toad Records’s re-release of “The Gypsy
Valentine Curve”.
The deadseapianorolls distribution for “Hella + Dilute Live” only
includes Dilute’s contributions to the album; Hella’s
side of the split can be found in the bandcamp distribution.
“Dilute - Live” was released in , but was recorded between and .
Dilute discography
title
Dilute
The Gypsy Valentine Curve
Grape Blueprints Pour Spinach Olive Grape
[V/A] If the 21st Century Didn't Exist, It Would Be Necessary to Invent It
Live 2002-08-24 @ Edinburgh Castle, San Francisco
Live 2002-09-10 @ Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco
![cover art for “[V/A] If the 21st Century Didn't Exist, It Would Be Necessary to Invent It”](if-the-21st.jpg)
![cover art for “[split] Hella + Dilute Live”](hella---dilute.jpg)
![inside packaging [1]](the-gypsy-valentine-inner-1.jpg){kind=link}
![liner notes [1]](the-gypsy-valentine-liner-notes-1.jpg){kind=link}
![liner notes [2] (54°40′ Or Fight! catalog)](the-gypsy-valentine-catalog.jpg){kind=link}
![liner notes [1]](grape-blueprints-liner-notes-1.jpg){kind=link}
![liner notes [2]](grape-blueprints-liner-notes-2.jpg){kind=link}
