Three years ago, Niraj started work on what he thought would be a pet project. Now completed, 'Along the Dusty Road' is bigger than he ever imagined; thirteen tracks in six languages, backed by specially commissioned photography and video, it's his most personal work yet.

"It would be easy, on first listen, to describe the theme of the album as 'isolation'. Perhaps too easy. While the first single 'Bangles' was inspired by his grandmother's journey from East Africa to the UK, 'Road' has grown to become a summary of Niraj's own journey over the last few years.

What are the themes then? Loss, separation, melancholy, you'll hear them, but the overall effect is more uplifting. Experience of touring in Asia, long hot summers, encounters in London with colourful characters; they're all key influences that burst through the music.

In the end, 'Road' is just too difficult to define simply or pin down to a scene. It has tracks which rely on complex classical ideas, while Niraj himself comes from a very different musical background and just listen to 'An Offering' where oriental sounds are layered on top of an Indian-influenced beat, more gut feel than textbook chemistry.

To me, it's the contradictions that make 'road' more wholesome, more authentic to real life than anything I've heard in a while".

Review by Rish.

ABOUT NIRAJ CHAG

London-based composer and producer Niraj Chag started experimenting with fusing Eastern and Western sounds from an early age. He was born in 1976 in Southampton and it was on the South coast that he honed his skills working with Mark Hill (Artful Dodger and Craig David) before spreading his wings and moving to London.

In London, his music was soon picked by Nitin Sawhney and OutCaste Records. His tracks on 'The New Breeds' album were critically acclaimed by Timeout and The Telegraph and they sparked the imagination of several visual arts producers. Niraj soon signed a contract to write and compose a new musical 'Baiju Bawra'; the first British Asian musical that opened in March 2002 in Stratford.

Since then he has continued to work on a variety of projects, notably 'Waterscapes' with Akademi and 'Kanya' with Sampad as well as composing music for the opening ceremony of The Commonwealth Games.

Niraj has worked extensively in TV & Radio. His composition credits include two programmes in 'The Power of Art' series (BBC2, 2006), 'Bollywood Star' (C4, 2004), 'Silver Street' (BBC Asian Network, 2004) and HBO's 'Sex and the City'. He was recently commissioned for BBC1's poignant, prime time documentary 'One Night in Bhopal'. On this project, he composed and was involved in the score and sound design.

Recently Niraj has enjoyed dance floor success through his group the Dum Dum Project. Through then he has had top ten hits in Asia ('Punjabi 5-0', Superfly Bind'') and has a track licensed to 'The Boom' soundtrack, a number one album in India. His blend of authentic sounds and driving rhythm has found its way onto catwalks (the Diesel summer shows) and the top 10 Liberty X album. Collaborations have also proved fruitful with Niraj working with acclaimed writers such as Charlie Dore and Pam Sheyne.

The near future for Niraj will be very busy. As well as occasionally lecturing in composition, he's just released the Dum Dum Project album on Sony Music and will be touring with material from his new solo project 'Along the Dusty Road'.