{"id":23473,"date":"2026-10-19T14:37:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=23473"},"modified":"2026-10-19T14:38:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:38:02","slug":"britains-sicky-gives-the-grim-reaper-a-sabbatical-on-new-single-mort-watch-the-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=23473","title":{"rendered":"Britain’s SICKY gives the Grim Reaper a sabbatical on new single \u2018Mort\u2019. Watch the video"},"content":{"rendered":"
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British alternative artist SICKY<\/strong><\/a> gets into the spirit of the season with ‘Mort’<\/strong><\/a>, the first track on his forthcoming full-length ‘Redland’ album<\/strong><\/a> – his fourth to date. Once again, he delivers an earful that is full of mischief, attitude and a darker sense of humour with a song inspired by the book “MORT” from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that novel, an awkward farm boy named Mort becomes the apprentice to Death — a tall, cat-loving skeleton personage, who decides to take a sabbatical to experience human pleasures — and must learn to navigate the immense cosmic responsibility of harvesting souls while attempting to outsmart his master and alter fate itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SICKY is the solo project of Mick Butler<\/strong>, whose brand of melodic Britpop-infused indie rock spells good news for fans of Beck, Supergrass and early Blur. Originally from the Black Country region of England, he is now based in Shropshire.  After a run of playing in bands — from the brass soaked pop of Papa Mantra<\/strong> to the dirty stomp of SUMO<\/strong> — he now derives pleasure from banging out tunes and crafting new material as a true independent creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This song was inspired by the wonderful Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novel of the same name. In the video, Death (played by the ever-dark Lily) is featured doing everyday mundane stuff. In the novel, he hired Mort to take his place so that he could experience human life for himself,” says Mick Butler<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This video and song were recorded in my hometown, Bridgnorth. The making of the video turned a few heads — a miniature Death carrying a scythe in a supermarket tends to do that. This was my first attempt at recording my newly bought piano. A certain amount of pointing a mic and hoping for the best went on, but hopefully it has worked out okay.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Mort’ is also the second single from the ‘Redland’ album, following <\/a><\/strong>‘Bubblegum Party’<\/strong><\/a>, each showcasing SICKY’s playful, infectious pop-rock sensibilities and off-kilter style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Redland’ is an album about friends lost along the way and it’s a good bit darker than past albums. While the new record presents some other shady moments, ‘Swim’<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>and <\/a><\/strong>‘Bubblegum Party’<\/strong><\/a> are not among them, presenting SICKY’s buoyant cheekiness, the latter track telling of a gloriously messy breakup party, served with a crooked grin as sweetness meets spite, chaos and a wicked sense of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, SICKY released his widely acclaimed <\/strong>‘Troubled Delight’<\/strong><\/a> album, preceded by his sophomore ‘Garbage Town’<\/strong><\/a> album in 2022. Prior to that, in 2021, he debuted with ‘Bowling Balls’<\/strong><\/a>, partially inspired by Prince, Bowie and Ray Bradbury’s book ‘The Martian Chronicles’. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 20th, ‘Mort’ is out across digital platforms, including Spotify<\/strong><\/a>, Apple Music<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>and Bandcamp<\/strong><\/a>, where the ‘Redland’ album is available for pre-order ahead of its November 20th release date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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