Rock category Finalist of the UK Songwriting Contest 2017 and current Semi-Finalist of the International Songwriting Competition, The Kut, announces a World Wide Record Deal with Cargo Records for the long-awaited debut album 'Valley of Thorns'. The album, produced by 'James Le Rock' (Skindred / Def Leppard / White Zombie / My Vitriol) finally sees the release of some of the live favorites heard on tour. Active on the UK and European alt. Rock scene, The Kut is the alter-ego of multi-instrumentalist, Princess Maha. The live outfit has seen many guises, with the most recent line up featuring Diana Bartmann (drums) and Stella Vie (bass / bvs). Festival performances have included Download, Camden Rocks Festival, Rebellion Festival, Hard Rock Hell, Glastonbudget, Nice N Sleazy and Strummercamp among others. Meanwhile, tours have spanned the UK, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Voted into the winning spots of the MTV Brand New Unsigned Poll for 2014, subsequent EP releases and tours have gained support from - deep breath - The Guardian, Metro, Scuzz, Kerrang! Magazine, Big Cheese, Planet Rock, BBC Introducing Lancashire, Kerrang! Radio, Metal Hammer, Big Cheese, Q and Classic Rock, AXS TV and MTV-U USA. 2017 saw The Kut featured as one of Kerrang! Magazine's Breakthrough Acts of 2017, while 'The Kut EP' was released on 500 limited edition picture disc for Record Store Day 2017, also featuring at number 4 in Kerrang! Magazines Top 10 Record Store Day Releases, alongside Baby Metal and Gerard Way.