THE KUT

Raised in Blackpool & disillusioned with school, The Kut (real name Princess Maha) found comfort in the coils of punk rock. Forming her first band at 14, they would rehearse in her parent’s then hotel, gig in Lancashire & go on to win the local Battle of the Bands - but confusion struck when their drummer was hospitalised with schizophrenia. The Kut turned to research for answers & left for the place she was born - London - to study psychology at Goldsmiths College, New Cross.

Inspired by London’s street artists, Maha assumed the tag ‘The Kut’, which would become her artist name. It was in Southeast London that she became fascinated by mixing genres, drumming & breakbeats. Finally finding her line up, now a collective, she started selling guitars post-studies & planned to build a studio. She kitted out musicians with their setups, including Muse, Mars Volta & Groove Armada, soon forming a bedroom label to release demos for The Kut & friends.

Tours began and major label interest followed. The Kut returned to psychology and started a PhD seeking precursors of psychosis-related illness. When the debut album did finally finish though, it was later than hoped & she had to decide whether to wait and look for a deal, or trust in herself & her fans Team Razors to release it independently. After a coffee meeting with Cargo Distribution, she decided to release the record on her Criminal Records label. Turning to crowd funding to finance the record ‘Valley of Thorns’ released in May 2018 and charted at #7 in the UK Rock Albums Chart & #18 in Independent Albums. Four years on, The Kut, now a PhD graduate, recently celebrated breaking even from her deal. After online conversations across the water, she recently signed a distribution deal in the US with Amplified/MNRK/Amped that like the initial Cargo deal, includes her label roster.

The Kut sophomore album ‘GRIT’ is the musical amalgamation of The Kut journey so far. On record, The Kut leads on vocals & guitar, moonlighting as drummer & bassist on two tracks. The record speaks to those channelling self-belief & self-identity - it’s a pep-talk on trusting your instinct & leads through the process of cutting the ropes, as heard in ‘Burn Your Bridges’ & choosing your passion, in ‘Runaways’ & ‘On My Own’. You see the light at end of the tunnel too, in ‘Fun When You’re Winning’ & the gratitude expressed in ‘Satellite’, while the closing punk-rock ‘And 1 More…’. Its 10 tracks also include recent hit single ‘ANIMO’, which won three awards (UK Songwriting Contest Best Rock Song, Best Music Video & the International Rock Award) & was debuted at The Kut headline set at Isle of Wight Festival, River Stage.

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