Mick Harris

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Mick Harris
Mick Harris.png
Harris with Extreme Noise Terror in 1988
Background information
Birth nameMichael John Harris
Also known asM.J. Harris
Born (1967-10-04) 4 October 1967 (age 57) [1]
Birmingham, England
Genres Hardcore punk, grindcore, deathgrind, extreme metal, electronica, experimental, industrial, free jazz, illbient, dub
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Drums, drum machines, synthesizers, vocals
Years active1985–2011, 2017–present
Member of Lull
Formerly of Napalm Death, Doom, Extreme Noise Terror, Painkiller, Defecation, Scorn

Michael John Harris (born 4 October 1967) is an English musician from Birmingham. He was the drummer for Napalm Death between 1985 and 1991, and is credited for coining the term "grindcore". After Napalm Death, Harris joined Painkiller with John Zorn and Bill Laswell. Since the mid-1990s, Harris has worked primarily in electronic and ambient music, his main projects being Scorn and Lull. He has also collaborated with musicians including James Plotkin and Extreme Noise Terror. According to AllMusic, Harris's "genre-spanning activities have done much to jar the minds, expectations, and record collections of audiences previously kept aggressively opposed." [2]

Contents

Early life

Michael John Harris was born in Birmingham, England. [3] He grew up listening to the radio shows of John Peel and would later record Peel Sessions with both Napalm Death and Scorn. [4] [5] Harris was influenced by listening to bands such as Coil and Skinny Puppy. [4] He started playing drums in 1984 at the age of 16, after a friend in a psychobilly band called Martian Brain Squeeze asked him to play. [6] Harris then joined a punk band called Anorexia with Dave Cochrane. [6] After applying unsuccessfully to join Napalm Death as a vocalist he later joined as drummer. [6]

Career

Napalm Death

Harris replaced Napalm Death's founding member Miles "The Rat" Ratledge as drummer in 1985. He was the driving force behind Scum and From Enslavement to Obliteration , being the only band member to play on both side A and side B of Scum. [7] [8] After the release of the EP Mentally Murdered , Napalm Death became more interested in the death metal scene and their sound started to move away from the British grindcore sound. At this point Bill Steer and Lee Dorrian departed the band. Harris left the band in 1991. [9]

While in Napalm Death, Harris also played drums for Doom and Extreme Noise Terror, and participated in a side project with Mitch Harris called Defecation, which produced two records, Purity Dilution and Intention Surpassed , through Nuclear Blast. Harris contributed only to Purity Dilution. [10] As a drummer he is generally credited with popularising the blast beat, which has since become a key component of much of extreme metal and grindcore. [11] Harris coined the term grindcore, later commenting "Grindcore came from 'grind' which was the only word I could use to describe the Swans after buying their first record in '84 [...] I thought 'grind' really fit because of the speed, so I started to call it grindcore". [12]

Assorted projects

After leaving Napalm Death and as well as initiating a number of projects in different musical genres such as Fret, Quoit, Lull and Scorn, Harris has also collaborated with artists such as James Plotkin, Justin Broadrick and Martyn Bates. [2] [4] He was contacted by John Zorn who wanted to create a new group consisting of himself, Harris and Bill Laswell on bass. This trio became Painkiller, a free jazz-extreme metal trio. [13] The group released three albums in the early 1990s. Guts of a Virgin and Buried Secrets were released by Earache Records and contained mostly short aggressive tracks reminiscent of Napalm Death with the added elements of both John Zorn's sax and Bill Laswell's bass. Their third and last record, the two disc set Execution Ground was released in 1995 on the Subharmonic label.

In 2017, Mick Harris returned after six years of total silence under the name of 'Fret' with a new song called "Lift Method" that was released through SoundCloud. [14] It was his first Fret material in 22 years. A new album called Over Depth was released in October 2017 as double vinyl / DL through Karlrecords. [15]

He has collaborated with Eraldo Bernocchi and Bill Laswell on Equations of Eternity, which is an ambient dub music project started in 1995 by Bernocchi.[ citation needed ]

Scorn

Harris founded Scorn in 1991 with Napalm Death's original bassist/lead singer Nic Bullen. [2] Scorn released several well-received albums and EPs in the early 1990s, creating a fusion of experimental heavy metal, electronic music, and dark dub music. Bullen left Scorn in 1995 and Harris continued to release albums exploring dark and minimalist industrial hip-hop territory, with a focus on extremely low and loud bass frequencies. Harris' work presaged dubstep. [16] Scorn has been associated with Earache Records, Invisible Records, Hymen, Combat Records and Record Label Records. Refuse; Start Fires was released in 2010 on OHM Resistance. [16] In November 2011, Harris announced that the Scorn project was "put to bed". [16] Scorn returned in 2019 with an EP entitled Feather and an LP both released on Ohm Resistance. [17] The LP was called Cafe Mor . It featured a contribution from Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods and was mastered by Daniele Antezza of Dadub. [18] The Only Place was released in 2021. [19]

Personal life

As of 2012, Harris was married and had two children and lived in Birmingham, working as a technician in a music college. [20] [11]

Related Research Articles

Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. Grindcore is considered a more noise-filled style of hardcore punk while using hardcore's trademark characteristics such as heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high-speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls, shouts and high-pitched shrieks. Early groups such as England's Napalm Death are credited with laying the groundwork for the style. It is most prevalent today in North America and Europe, with popular contributors such as Brutal Truth and Nasum. Lyrical themes range from a primary focus on social and political concerns, to gory subject matter and black humor.

A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal, and occasionally in metalcore. In Adam MacGregor's definition, "the blast-beat generally comprises a repeated, sixteenth-note figure played at a very fast tempo, and divided uniformly among the bass drum, snare, and ride, crash, or hi-hat cymbal." Blast beats have been described by PopMatters contributor Whitney Strub as, "maniacal percussive explosions, less about rhythm per se than sheer sonic violence".

"The 'original' or traditional blastbeat is a single-stroke roll played between your cymbal and snare, with your kick playing simultaneously with every cymbal hit."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Napalm Death</span> English grindcore band

Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since Utopia Banished (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris, drummer Danny Herrera and lead vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway has remained consistent through most of the band's career. From 1989 to 2004, Napalm Death were a five-piece band after they added Jesse Pintado and Mitch Harris as replacements for guitarist Bill Steer. Following Pintado's departure, the band reverted to a four-piece.

<i>Scum</i> (Napalm Death album) 1987 studio album by Napalm Death

Scum is the debut studio album by English grindcore band Napalm Death, released on 1 July 1987 by Earache Records. The two sides of the record were recorded by two different lineups in sessions separated by about a year; the only musician in both incarnations was drummer Mick Harris. The two sides are very different, and the two taken together serve to bridge stylistic elements of heavy metal and punk rock. While the songs on the A-side are influenced heavily by hardcore punk and anarcho-punk, the vocals and lower-tuned electric guitars on the B-side anticipate subsequent developments in extreme metal. Loudwire put it in the list of the best 10 metal albums of 1987.

<i>From Enslavement to Obliteration</i> Album by Napalm Death

From Enslavement to Obliteration is the second studio album by English grindcore band Napalm Death, released in 1988. It is the final studio album with vocalist Lee Dorrian and guitarist Bill Steer, and the first to feature bassist Shane Embury, the band's longest-tenured member to date. A remastered version was released on 2 April 2012. Loudwire put it on the list of the 10 best metal albums of 1988.

<i>Harmony Corruption</i> Album by Napalm Death

Harmony Corruption is the third studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death, released on 1 July 1990 on Earache Records.

Scorn is an English electronic music project. The group was formed in the early 1990s as a project of former Napalm Death members Mick Harris and Nic Bullen. Bullen left the group in 1995, and the project continued on an essentially solo project for Harris until 1997 when it was stopped. Scorn was relaunched in 2000 until the end of 2011. Harris restarted the project in 2019, but stopped it again in late 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme Noise Terror</span> British crust punk and extreme metal band

Extreme Noise Terror are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore, and for recording a number of sessions for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, the band started as crust punks and helped characterise the early, archetypal grindcore sound with highly political lyrics, fast guitars and tempos, and often very short songs.

Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing early grindcore and death metal records between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Its roster has since diversified into more mainstream guitar music, working with bands such as Rival Sons, the Temperance Movement, Blackberry Smoke, Scarlet Rebels and the White Buffalo. The company also hosted the 'Earache Express' stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and 'The Earache Factory' at Boomtown 2018. The label's logo is a homage to Thrasher magazine, as Pearson was a skateboard culture enthusiast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Walker (musician)</span> Musical artist

Jeffrey Walker is an English musician, best known for his work with death metal band Carcass for which he is also the main lyricist. Before Carcass, he played in the hardcore punk band Electro Hippies. After the initial demise of Carcass, he went on to form hard rock band Blackstar with two former Carcass bandmates, and joined American grindcore band, Brujeria. Loudwire placed him at number 22 on their list of Top 25 Extreme Metal Vocalists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Embury</span> British bassist

Shane Thomas Embury is a British musician, who is primarily known as the bassist of the grindcore and death metal band Napalm Death since 1987—the longest-serving member of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Broadrick</span> English musician, singer and songwriter

Justin Karl Michael Broadrick is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the band Godflesh, one of the first bands to combine elements of extreme metal and industrial music. Following Godflesh's initial breakup in 2002, Broadrick formed the band Jesu.

Painkiller is an avant-garde jazz and grindcore band that formed in 1991. Later albums incorporated elements of ambient and dub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Bullen</span> British musician

Nicholas Bullen is an English musician and a founding member of the grindcore band Napalm Death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Suffer</span> 1989 single by Napalm Death

"You Suffer" is a song by English grindcore band Napalm Death, released on the band's debut studio album, Scum (1987). The song is precisely 1.316 seconds long. The song was written by Nicholas Bullen, Justin Broadrick, and Mick Harris during the March 1986 demo sessions for From Enslavement to Obliteration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch Harris</span> American guitarist (born 1969)

Mitchell Harris is an American guitarist. He started his career in the Las Vegas, Nevada grindcore band Righteous Pigs. He did a side project with Mick Harris – then the drummer of grindcore band Napalm Death – called Defecation. Shortly thereafter, he left Righteous Pigs and permanently joined Napalm Death in 1989, firstly appearing on the Harmony Corruption album. He is still with them, playing guitar and back-up vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blockheads (French band)</span> French heavy metal band

Blockheads are a French grindcore band.

<i>Sacrifist</i> 1994 studio album by Praxis

Sacrifist is the second album by Bill Laswell's experimental music project Praxis, released in 1993 on Laswell's label Subharmonic. Originally, the album was intended to be a Rammellzee project, but soon was converted into the second Praxis album, after suggestions made by John Zorn.

Kurt Gluck known professionally as Submerged is a Brooklyn-based DJ, bassist, founder of the avant-garde drum and bass and experimental music label Ohm Resistance and co-founder of Obliterati, and a prolific multi-genre electronic music producer, first notable for his work with bassist and producer Bill Laswell in creating drum and bass-jazz fusion projects including their band Method of Defiance, and The Blood of Heroes.

References

  1. ↑ "Interview with Scorn". Flux:. Musical art, conjunct of sound. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Cooper, Sean. "Mick Harris : Biography / By Sean Cooper". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1988. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. 1 2 3 "Monrella/JK Flesh - See Red (Premiere + Q&A)". The Brvtalist. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  5. ↑ Walker, Ryan (17 January 2021). "JK Flesh and Monrella: See Red - Split Album Review by Ryan Walker". Louder Than War. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Urselli, Marc. "Mick Harris". Chain D.L.K. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  7. ↑ Everley, Dave (30 January 2020). "The story of grindcore: "This isn't metal, it isn't punk, I don't know what the f**k these guys are doing"". Metal Hammer Magazine. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  8. ↑ Moores, J. R. (23 June 2017). "The Chaotic Evolution of Napalm Death's 'Scum,' the World's First Grindcore Album". Vice. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  9. ↑ "15 Questions to Mick Harris/Scorn". Tokafi. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  10. ↑ Rosenberg, Axl (10 April 2019). "Napalm Death's Mitch Harris Warns That New Defecation Releases Are a "Total Scam"". Metalsucks.net. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  11. 1 2 Finlayson, Angus (11 October 2017). "Mick Harris: Greetings from Birmingham". Resident Advisor. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  12. ↑ Phillips, William; Cogan, Brian (20 March 2009). Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music. ABC-CLIO. p. 103. ISBN   978-0-313-34801-3.
  13. ↑ Dee, Liam (2016). "The Brutal Truth: Grindcore as the extreme realism of heavy metal". In Bayer, Gerd (ed.). Heavy Metal Music in Britain. Routledge. p. 61. ISBN   9781315586441.
  14. ↑ "FRET (Aka MICK HARRIS) - LIFT METHOD by Karlrecords | Free Listening on SoundCloud". Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  15. ↑ Smith, Mark (12 July 2017). "Mick Harris returns with first new Fret material in 22 years". Residentadvisor.net. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  16. 1 2 3 "Scorn". Birmingham Music Archive. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  17. ↑ "Scorn returns to Ohm Resistance with EP & LP". Igloo Magazine. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  18. ↑ "Scorn releases first LP in nine years, Cafe Mor · News ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  19. ↑ "A Beautiful Space: Mick Harris Of Scorn Interviewed". The Quietus. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  20. ↑ Horsley, Jonathan (27 February 2012). "Interview: ex-Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris on Scum, Scorn and the hell of urban living". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
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