The Kut [Interview]
With the Kut’s brand new EP Rock Paper Scissors set to drop in just a few weeks’ time, TMMP caught up with Kut vocalist/guitarist Maha to talk happiness, passion, psychology, and what 2015 holds for this inventive alt-rock trio…
Hey – thanks for taking the time to do this! So…what makes you happy?
Hey, thanks for having us for a chat. Wow, that’s a tough starter. If I said I don’t know, would that be going in too deep?
I know lots of things I think will make me happy, but they are all short lived and then followed by the kind of comedown that neutralises it. Is that even really happiness?
A lot of the research on happiness comes down to just a few things, like the constant working on yourself, long term goals – making sure you are doing the best you can and using your potential. So anyway, I just aim for a constant ok and try to avoid the extreme highs and lows as much as possible.
Music is probably the only thing that settles both for me though. I love music as a fan and it’s part of who I am as a person. Trust me though, if there was a way I could NOT listen to the calling…It takes a lot of dedication in all forms, from playing until your fingers bled as a learner back in the day to practicing religiously, writing, touring.
Musicians get a lot of stick in terms of how we are portrayed, but I don’t know many professional musicians that can call themselves that without serious passion, discipline, and commitment. Although a lot of the music I write is inspired by the lows rather than the highs, there’s still balance in that though. Something good coming from something bad has to create some sort of happiness.
What are your earliest musical memories?
You know when you have a memory but it’s only because you’ve heard it so many times? Well I remember playing piano at around 4 years old. It is probably my first memory at all. I used to write songs on the piano and make up words to go with them. It was pretty fun. My family still sing them at me, haha!
How did the Kut come to be?
When I came to London to study, I wanted to start a new band. I’d had to leave my old band to move – we’d been together since I was 14 and I was heartbroken. I had to move to the city though, and it was something I did for music as much as anything else. I met a girl, Elvira, in New Cross and we joked about setting up a band.
That one day it all happened – someone gave her an amp and trolley to move it around, she got a bass from a guy we knew and we got a gig on the same day, as well as finding a space in a New Cross basement to rehearse. Then both our cats died the next day. We thought it must be fate and signified the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
At the beginning though we didn’t have an all female line up. My friend Amil was on the drums to start with, just to get us through the festival gig we got. He’s actually a cage fighter now; fair play to him. Also one of the best guitarists I know.
Describe your creative process.
I guess it depends, but usually it’s a case of coming up with a lyric or a riff or a beat and then me playing round and hashing it out. I record a lot of stuff on my phone out and about. You know, like when that engine sounds like it should’ve been a beat or you are thinking about something someone said or the way someone has acted.
I write a lot of tracks. We probably get about a third of them to the rehearsal and then work on them together with the time we have between the shows.
Describe each of the tracks from Rock Paper Scissors [previewed below] in one sentence each.
Hm, tough one, but I Want You Maniac was a Halloween track; it’s not really about much but it’s upbeat and fun. Alekhine’s Gun is about staying strong in the face of impossible times and not letting the world grind you in the process.
I Don’t Need Therapy is about rejecting the ill advice that people try to ram down your throat in the guise of helping you out. Bad Man is about witch hunting someone who has hurt you through taking revenge on other similar people.
What are your passions outside music?
I’m really passionate about psychology actually.
I’ve spent a lot of time researching ways to detect psychosis and schizophrenia before it occurs. I developed software that can potentially do this as part of my studies. I’d say it’s more of a duty in some ways.
I had a very close friend who became schizophrenic when we were young. If I felt I was onto something how could I sleep at night knowing the research would never be done? So I had to do it myself, but I consider it as my hobby, which really upsets some academics. I’m not unfamiliar with questions like ‘oh, so you are in a band then?’ (insert condescending tone).
I’m also partial to a bit of wrestling, although as a spectator! I like fashion and design too, and run a clothing label called House of Hate.
What are your plans for the rest of 2015?
We’ve got a lot of shows booked in so far considering it’s only March, so I think from May that’s the main focus, to tour the new EP.
We’ve got a few videos coming up too. We shot one in Dubai which I’m really excited about as a storyline and one last week. We can only hope we will get the same support we’ve been getting from UK and USA TV and just keep picking away and getting our music out there. Hopefully we can get back in the studio to finish off some tracks too, and lay down some of the newest ones at the same time.
Links / EP Preview
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