Greg Werckman presents 'The Ipecast'

1. Fantômas – Book 1, Page 1 (Fantômas, 1999)

This is where it all began. During the final, full Faith No More tour, Mike was working on a noisy, strange project that evolved into Fantômas. He needed to put together musicians that could pull it off, as it was not your average rock music. He called Trevor Dunn (Mr Bungle), Buzz Osborne (Melvins) & Dave Lombardo (Slayer) and they all agreed. So, I started to look for a label for the band. After 6 to 8 months, we had interest, but nothing that made sense to us, so we decided to do it ourselves. That is why Ipecac was formed.

2. Melvins – Let It All Be (The Bootlicker, 1999)

While trying to decide if we should start a label or not, Buzz from the Melvins pointed out that they did not have a full time home and they would be happy to join us. That is the moment we became a real record label. I mean we had the freaking Melvins!!!! One look at our discography tells you what we think of these guys and this band. They are the best. PERIOD!

3. Isis – Not In Rivers, But In Drops (In The Absence of Truth, 2006)

Along with the Melvins and Dälek, Isis is one of the bands that made us, put us on the map. Those three bands make up the Ipecac board of directors. We could not be more pleased with how Isis grew over the course of their career. A very unique band, supremely talented and great guys to work with. Maybe the biggest disappointment in Ipecac history was the day they called us to say they were breaking up as a band.

4. Mugison – 2 Birds (Mugimama, Is This Monkey Music?, 2005)

The best part of having a label is finding the gems out of nowhere. Discovering amazing artists, then getting the chance to turn others on to them. This has happened a bunch of times. Mugison is a freakishly talented musician from Iceland. There is no rhyme or reason why this guy is not huge worldwide. He was once described as the Icelandic Beck and I could not agree more. A genuine songwriter, pure and simple.

5. Peeping Tom – Mojo (Peeping Tom, 2006)

So having a business partner like Mike Patton makes things interesting. Mike never stops working as an artist and never stops challenging himself. Peeping Tom was one of those challenges. Mike had a collection of songs in his head that were in a more pop vein than he had been releasing. He chased down a bunch of artists that he admired and wanted to collaborate with and created Peeping Tom. This record and subsequent tours were a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Meeting and working with Rahzel? Having Norah Jones on a track? Getting to tour with The Who? Making a music video with Danny DeVito? Very cool!

6. Goon Moon – Pin Eyed Boy (Licker's Last Leg, 2007)

Not every record does as well as you hope, but you do your best and you love them all as a label owner. We get hit up by musicians that we know and respect constantly. But when Jeordie White and Chris Goss, two great guys and insanely talented musicians sent us the tape of Goon Moon, I flipped. I love this record. In all honesty, this is probably the Ipecac release that I personally listen to the most. It ended up not doing as well as I thought, but check it out. I think it is brilliant!

7. Northern State – Better Already (Can I Keep This Pen?, 2007)

Mike and I have pretty broad tastes in music. The label reflects that. Hell, we have done everything from country to comedy to metal to classical to hip-hop to just about everything. I remember the day I heard this song and I was excited! I had also remembered seeing these ladies on a Canadian music channel years earlier. This is fun pop, hip-hop party music! Yes, that’s right, we are not all dark doom and gloom and heavy and weirdo here. Sometimes we want to have a good time. A great band and very cool people. Got their music in several TV shows and movies too.

8. Desert Sessions – In My Head….Or Something (Volumes 9 & 10, 2003)

As I mentioned earlier, we get hit up by some pretty cool musicians. Josh Homme is one of those. A dear friend who also has more talent in his large red dome than all the musicians you see regularly on MTV. We have done the vinyl on several Queens of the Stone Age releases, we did the first Eagles of Death Metal record but the coolest thing we collaborated on has got to be his Desert Sessions concept. Josh and his friends in the California desert invite musicians to head out to parched California countryside to woodshed. They gather in a room with various instruments and libations, start taping and create. Pure and simple! What comes out of these sessions is almost always amazing. The world needs more of this.

9. Mike Patton – Il Cielo In Una Stanza (Mondo Cane, 2010)

Did I mention that Mike Patton likes to challenge himself? I might also add that, working with him, one learns to expect the unexpected. So how about making a recording of vintage Italian pop songs, with a full orchestra, sung in Italian? Quite simply, I think Mondo Cane is the most amazing thing ever created by an amazing musician. Of course, I also manage him and he is also my business partner and one of my best friends. So I'm kinda biased. This record is beautiful. Why limit what you can do as an artist OR as a record label?

10. Retox – A Bastard On Father's Day (Ugly Animals, 2011)

I thought it would be nice to close with one of our newest bands. We have known these guys for a long time from one of their other bands, The Locust (we also released a Locust EP). These guys are pros. They love music, love what they do, are not looking to be the next huge band not expecting to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. They work hard, they are lifers. Just like us.

It was hard to pick just 10 tracks that accurately summarise the label. As I mentioned we have released such a wide variety of styles of music. We have a ton of respect and admiration for all of the artists we have worked with. We turn down a lot of good music to make room for the things we have released. At the end, we look at our discography and that is the record of what we are as a record label. Sales, charts, awards etc don't mean as much to us as the music does and the people that create it.

Download the full compilation by clicking the icon below...