Do you know what music is popular in Japan or that there’s a type of music that uses static instead of regular instruments called noise? There are bands famous for their off-the-wall antics as well as the music they produce for their zany compositions. But they aren’t at all recognizable initially. When the listener comes across the artists on Ipecac recordings they are taken aback to say the least. The reaction will almost always turn out to be “why haven’t I heard this band before?”
Ipecac Recordings has some of the most notable acts on the underground avant-garde circuit today. Avant-garde is a word that’s used to describe anything that is innovative or uses new concepts, especially in the arts. But some people don’t even know who the acts are. Mike Patton, who created the label, was the lead singer for Mr. Bungle, the avant-garde genre-defying band. He also had radio hits with the newly reunited band Faith No More in the nineties.
Ipecac was founded in Orinda, California in 1999 by Patton along with Greg Werckman, who is an ex employee of Mercury Records. They created the label so Patton could release an album by one of his bands, Fantômas. Knowing that both Patton and Werckman have been in the studio as an artist and a producer gives them a much needed edge over some of the competition because they know what is good for the artist, their music and the business.
Ipecac is very different than other independent label counterparts because of its approach to its artists. Instead of signing their artists to three or four album contracts they only sign them to one. They also make less copies of an album at a time and have very little distribution costs and little to no promoting expenses, which means more money for the artists instead of the company.
All the artists on Ipecac have diverse musical tastes. There are Japanese girl groups such as eX-Girl, an all female rap group channeling the Beastie Boys like Northern State, comedians like Neil Hamburger and of course some regular old rock acts like Patton’s own Tomahawk.
Northern State has their own style of rap and own unique female point of view. Most mainstream rap acts that involve girls are either too aggressive or really provocative but Northern State maintain their femininity without compromising their musical talent.
eX-Girl is a lot more rock than expected for an all girl Japanese girl group but if you’ve listened to the music that is regularly produced by Ipecac they seem like a good fit. Pounding drums alongside a synthesizer makes for a great dance track. Ipecac also has some acts mainly focused on the noise genre. Which is a lot of noise like feedback or static played very loud.
One band that is an example of noise music is avant-garde act Ruins. Drummer, Tatsuya Yoshida, formed the band along with many different members to play bass. In Yoshida’s new band and latest album, he replaces the bass for a saxophone for Sax Ruins. In Sax Ruins there is one saxophone player, Ono Ryoko. Their first album, “Yawiquo” has just been released.
Not only should these acts be headlining sold out shows and playing on the radio but also be more famous than the airheads bombarding what little airwaves are devoted to music on MTV. The type of music that Ipecac represents might be out of the ordinary for some but their artists are very new, exciting and dedicated more to their craft than the money they can make from it. Check out of Ipecac Recordings because they have tons of bands that you don’t hear everyday.