Mike Patton is an American singer, best known for providing lead vocals for
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...
along with
Mr. Bungle,
Fantômas,
Peeping Tom,
Tomahawk,
Lovage and more. In addition to recording and working with these bands, he has also been involved in many side projects and collaborations. Patton is most frequently known as a vocalist, but has also produced, played various musical instruments, has composed soundtracks, done voice over work and has done some acting.
Patton's first recordings were demo tapes made while in high school as part of his band
Mr. Bungle; the first, ''The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny'' was released in 1986. On the strength of these demo tapes, Patton was invited to sing vocals for rock band
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...
. His first album for Faith No More, ''
The Real Thing'', was nominated for a Grammy Award and it contained the band's most successful single to date, "
Epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements
Epic or EPIC may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and medi ...
".
Having gained fame with Faith No More, Mr. Bungle were signed to
Warner Bros. Records. Their
self-titled debut, although focusing on heavy metal, featured an eclectic mix of funk, free jazz, circus music and various other genres mixed with numerous samples, was released in 1991. The following year saw the release of Faith No More's next album, ''
Angel Dust
Angel dust may refer to:
Common uses
* A common name for the drug phencyclidine (PCP)
* Angel dusting, a misleading marketing practice
Comics and videos
* Angel Dust (comics), a fictional mutant
* ''Angel Dust'', a manga by Kouta Hirano
* '' ...
'', the first Patton had musical influence on. It is Faith No More's most successful album to date and is widely considered to be the band's
magnum opus.
In 1995, Patton released three albums—''
King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime'' with Faith No More, which also saw the release of three singles; ''
Disco Volante'' with Mr. Bungle; and ''
Elegy'' with John Zorn, performing vocals all three. He has since released music under different projects and in a variety of different styles such as
crooning,
falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
,
death growls,
rapping
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
,
chant
A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...
ing,
mouth music
Mouth Music is a Scottish-inspired musical project founded in 1988, whose combination of traditional Gaelic songs and music with contemporary instrumental and technological settings led them to international fame in the early 1990s.
Mouth Music ...
,
beatboxing and
scatting, among others; leading critic Greg Prato call Patton "one of the most versatile and talented singers in rock music".
On April 1,
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
, Patton co-founded the independent record label
Ipecac Recordings with
Greg Werckman. He has released most of his subsequent output on that label. His directorial debut was in 1993, with an abstract film titled ''Video Macumba''. His first solo album, ''
Adult Themes for Voice
''Adult Themes for Voice'' is a 1996 album by Mike Patton. Recorded in hotel rooms while touring as a member of Faith No More, the album is solely composed of vocal sounds arranged as noise music. Released on John Zorn's Tzadik Records label, t ...
'', was released in 1996. His first role as actor was in the 2004 film ''
Firecracker''. He has released 32
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s, 1
EPs, 2
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s, 15 video albums, composed 4 soundtracks and has made more than 60 other appearances, providing vocals for single tracks. He has worked with such artists as
Sepultura,
Dan the Automator,
John Zorn
John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...
,
The Dillinger Escape Plan,
The X-Ecutioners,
Merzbow,
John Kaada,
The Melvins,
Dub Trio,
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
,
Zu and many more.
Faith No More
Studio albums
Live albums
Singles
Music videos
Compilations
Other appearances
Videography
Mr. Bungle
Studio albums
Live albums
Single
Music videos
Demos
Compilations/other
Fantômas
Studio albums
Live albums
Split albums
Box set
Videography
Other appearances
Tomahawk
Studio albums
Singles
Box set
Music videos
tētēma
Studio albums
Peeping Tom
Studio albums
Singles
Music video
Dead Cross
Studio albums
Music videos
Other appearances
With John Zorn
Studio albums
Hemophiliac
Moonchild Trio
Other
Solo
Studio albums
Film scores
Collaborations
Albums
Videography
Music videos
Filmography
As a musician
As talent
As composer
These releases are Patton's work solely as composer. Soundtracks featuring Patton as a part of other bands are listed in those bands' respective categories.
Video games
Other appearances
Notes
References
External links
Ipecac RecordingsFaith No More - Official websiteMr. Bungle - Official websiteMike Patton Discography
o
Patton Fanatic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Mike Discography
Discographies of American artists
Rock music discographies