Ipecac Recordings is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent labe ...

, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it ...

) and Mike Patton (

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 ...

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, ...

, Fantômas, Tomahawk,

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...

and Mondo Cane) in Alameda, California. Originally the label was created for the sole purpose of releasing the first Fantômas album. Since then, they have gone on to distribute other artists like

Melvins Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appe ...

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

, as well as several of Patton's other projects and collaborations. The label is named after syrup of ipecac, an emetic, or vomit-inducing, medicine. Its slogan is "Ipecac Recordings—Making People Sick Since 1999."

Business practices

Ipecac is distinguished from most labels (

independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

s included) by their policy of signing bands to only one album contracts. Werckman claims that "when starting our label we decided that it did not feel right to “own” the artists on our label. Instead we would rent or license records from artists that we liked."Ipecac Recordings Interview

3 Event 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

/ref> "Lawyers or businesspeople call us morons for only doing one-record deals," Werckman scoffs. "They say, 'You're not really anything, then.' Well, we like our catalogue. We like the records we put out. Our bands aren't rushing away. Our job isn't to own any artist. We're here to put out the art that people create." Low overhead and no video or promotional cost partnered with very little distribution costs allow for hearty royalties. "Every six months I send those guys royalty checks," Werckman says. "It's great. It's the way it should be. Even bands that are very successful — when they get royalty checks from us, they're stunned." Ipecac has offices in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Artists released on Ipecac Recordings

Beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for fo ...

* Bohren & Der Club of Gore * Circus Devils *

Crystal Fairy ''Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus'' (''Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus and 2012'' as presented onscreen) is a 2013 Chilean adventure comedy film written and directed by Sebastián Silva. The film stars Michael Cera and Gaby Hoffmann. At t ...

* Imani Coppola * The Curse of the Golden Vampire * Dalek (visual artist) / HAZE XXL (Tom Hazelmyer) *

Dälek Dälek () (stylized in all lowercase) is an American experimental hip hop group formed in Newark, New Jersey in 1998. The group's current lineup consists of MC dälek (vocals and producer) and Mike Manteca (aka Mike Mare) (electronics and prod ...

(musicians) * Daughters *

The Desert Sessions The Desert Sessions are a musical collective series, founded by Josh Homme in 1997. Artists such as Brant Bjork, PJ Harvey, Twiggy Ramirez, Dave Catching, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, John McBain, Ben Shepherd, Josh Freese, Chris Goss, Alain ...

* DJ Eddie Def * Dub Trio * East West Blast Test * End *

eX-Girl eX-Girl is a Japanese female noise rock trio. Overview They claim to hail from the planet Kero Kero. They are described as psychedelic, space rock, jazz fusion, jagged alternating vocal harmonies, sugary synthesiser pop, punk, prog, epic/atmosph ...

(Distribution only) * Fantômas * Fantômas Melvins Big Band *

Farmers Market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

* Flat Earth Society * Gangpol & Mit * General Patton /

The X-Ecutioners The X-Ecutioners are a group of American hip hop DJs/ turntablists from New York City, New York. The group formed in 1989 and currently consists of three DJs, including Total Eclipse, DJ Boogie Blind, DJ Precision. Original members of the gro ...

* Ghostigital * The Golding Institute * Goon Moon * Guapo *

Neil Hamburger Neil Hamburger is a fictional standup comedian and singer created by Australian-American entertainer Gregg Turkington. Distinguished for his misanthropic jokes and anti-comedy style, Turkington has released a number of albums as Hamburger and ...

Hella ''Hella'' is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good" and was eventually added to the '' Oxford English Dictionary'' in 2002. It is possib ...

* Zach Hill *

* Kaada * Kaada/Patton * Eyvind Kang * kid606 *

The Kids of Widney High The Kids of Widney High is an American music group composed of students with mental disabilities from the special education J. P. Widney High School in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The band consists of students with physic ...

Le Butcherettes Le Butcherettes is a Mexican garage punk band formed in 2007 in Guadalajara by Teri Gender Bender. History Le Butcherettes was created by vocalist/guitarist Teri Gender Bender, who later recruited drummer Auryn Jolene to form a duo. Their liv ...

* The Locust * The Lucky Stars * Lustmord * MadLove * Maldoror *

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the ...

& Duke Garwood *

* Messer Chups * Moistboyz * Mondo Generator * Mondo Cane *

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classi ...

Mouse On Mars Mouse on Mars is a German electronic music duo formed in 1993 by Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma. Their music is a blend of electronic genres including IDM, dub, krautrock, breakbeat and ambient, featuring heavy use of organic analog synth an ...

Mugison Örn Elías Guðmundsson, known professionally as Mugison (born 4 September 1976), is an Icelandic musician. Early life In 1977, Guðmundsson and his family moved from Reykjavík to Ísafjörður Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ic ...

Mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, m ...

* Northern State *

Orthrelm Orthrelm is an American avant-garde band from Washington, D.C. Biography Orthrelm is a duo composed of Mick Barr on guitar and Josh Blair on drums. Their songwriting style is mostly experimental, and shows the influence of avant-garde music a ...

* Palms *

* Phantomsmasher *

Pink Anvil Pink Anvil was a duo consisting of former members of the group Ministry - Paul Barker and Max Brody. The pair formed during a time of personal turmoil in Ministry, which due to drug abuse and record label disagreements nearly ended the group. Upo ...

* Planet B *

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple lin ...

( Vinyl distribution only) * Qui *

Brian Reitzell Brian Reitzell (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician, composer, record producer and music supervisor best known for his work on many film and TV soundtracks. He is notable for working extensively with the American film director Sofia ...

* Omar Rodríguez-López *

Ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

* Sax Ruins * Sensational * Spotlights *

Skeleton Key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from the fact that the key has been r ...

Sleaford Mods Sleaford Mods are an English post-punk music duo, formed in 2007 in Nottingham. The band features vocalist Jason Williamson and, since 2012, musician Andrew Fearn. They are known for their abrasive, minimalist musical style and embittered explo ...

* Steroid Maximus * Retox * Rob Swift * Tanya Tagaq *

The Tango Saloon The Tango Saloon is an Australian experimental tango band from Sydney, Australia. Their self-titled debut, a "tango-flavored album with a twist of spaghetti western", was released in 2006 by Ipecac Recordings, the American record label run by Mik ...

* Tipsy * Tomahawk *

The Book of Knots The Book of Knots is an American experimental art rock band consisting of the members Matthias Bossi, Joel Hamilton, Carla Kihlstedt and Tony Maimone. History The Book of Knots was formed in 2003 by three core band members Joel Hamilton, Matth ...

* Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant * Unsane *

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

* Venomous Concept * Vincent & Mr. Green *

Otto Von Schirach Otto von Schirach (born March 10, 1978 in Miami, Florida) is an American IDM and breakcore Breakcore is a style and microgenre of electronic dance music that emerged from jungle, hardcore, and drum and bass in the mid-to-late 1990s. It i ...

The Young Gods The Young Gods are a Swiss industrial rock band from Fribourg, formed in 1985. The original lineup of the band featured singer Franz Treichler, sampler player Cesare Pizzi and drummer Frank Bagnoud. For most of their history, the band mainta ...

Yoshimi and Yuka Yoshimi and Yuka was a collaboration between musicians Yoshimi P-We (of Boredoms, OOIOO, UFO or Die et al.) and Yuka Honda (solo artist and member of Cibo Matto). They released their only album to date, ''Flower With No Color'' on Ipecac Record ...

* Zu

References

External links

* {{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 1999 Alternative rock record labels Labels distributed by Universal Music Group 1999 establishments in California

Business practices

Artists released on Ipecac Recordings

See also

References

External links