Fret

Fret is an alias used by <a href="spotify:artist:3LQ6aBKxUDVOsSjrzaNVde">Mick Harris</a> for his ventures into relentlessly hard, punishing techno in the vein of fellow Birmingham producers like <a href="spotify:artist:4erwZm1JybuSPTUg5Bu7nT">Regis</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1PSylklb2w06BAAHEtepqM">Surgeon</a>. He released one EP as Fret in 1995, then resurrected the moniker two decades later with 2017 full-length Over Depth.

<a href="spotify:artist:3LQ6aBKxUDVOsSjrzaNVde">Harris</a> is known for his involvement in a wide range of projects, including grindcore originators <a href="spotify:artist:3UqRgrDIQ208yNGiWKRMNt">Napalm Death</a>, industrial hip-hop innovators <a href="spotify:artist:0sKlAr34dAjAdb7a9yriqX">Scorn</a>, dark ambient solo project <a href="spotify:artist:2Y1CHFqNoKSAQCosygOeiI">Lull</a>, and free jazz/metal trio <a href="spotify:artist:6tqRiiqhyYd6O1TjLcVfXm">Pain Killer</a>. In 1995, he released an untitled 12" of experimental techno tracks under the name Fret. The EP was the only record to be released on Resonance, a sublabel of notable Birmingham techno label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Downwards%22">Downwards</a>. After the EP was released, <a href="spotify:artist:3LQ6aBKxUDVOsSjrzaNVde">Harris</a> switched to the name Monrella for his techno recordings, and he released several 12"s on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22ZET%22">ZET</a>, a label founded by Karl O'Connor (<a href="spotify:artist:4erwZm1JybuSPTUg5Bu7nT">Regis</a>). Nothing further was heard from Fret until an untitled, previously unreleased track from 1995 was included on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Downwards%22">Downwards</a>' 2013 compilation Halha. <a href="spotify:artist:44z1nVVXZE8d4njcQmQLWc">Objekt</a> included the Fret track "Stuck" on Kern, Vol. 3, his 2016 mix for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a>. The following year, his first full-length, Over Depth, was released by German label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Karlrecords%22">Karlrecords</a>. The release contained some of the heaviest, most complex beat excursions <a href="spotify:artist:3LQ6aBKxUDVOsSjrzaNVde">Harris</a> had created since retiring <a href="spotify:artist:0sKlAr34dAjAdb7a9yriqX">Scorn</a> in 2011. The album was followed by the equally intense Silent Neighbour EP, which appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22L.I.E.S.%22">L.I.E.S.</a> in 2018. 2019 saw an EP of remixed versions of his 2017 track "Salford Priors." ~ Paul Simpson