Niraj Chag

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Niraj Chag is a London-based musical artist and composer. He is known for his musical style which mixes Indian classical influences with contemporary stylings and layered, complex beats. Niraj's tracks were initially released on the Outcaste record label, which also featured Nitin Sawhney and other British Asian artists such as Badmarsh and Shri in the late 1990's. He has written and produced his own album 'Along the Dusty Road' which was released in late summer 2006 on the B Channel label.

[edit] Biography

Born in Southampton, England, Niraj's first professional experience in music was working on Mark Hill's label.

Moving to Outcaste Records in London, Niraj released the single 'Walk Alone' and contributed four tracks to the album 'Outcaste New Breed' which showcased Niraj's work alongside other label artists.

Niraj's track, 'Kuch Dil Ne Kaha', is typical of his work, which often features synth-driven soundscapes and classical Indian instrumentation and singers.

Since leaving Outcaste Records Niraj has worked on the British Asian musical 'Baiju Bawra', which opened in London's Stratford East theatre in 2002, and numerous soundtracks.

In May 2006 he released 'Bangles' the first song from his album 'Along the Dusty Road', on the B -Channel label. According to notes from his website, 'Bangles' was inspired by the journey his grandmother made in migrating to the UK from India via Africa.

'Along the Dusty Road' was a "pet project" (source: www.nirajchag.com) three years in the making, and 'Bangles' and 'Kwhaab' (another song from the album) attracted the attention of new fans less familiar with his earlier work, both songs being playlisted on BBC and local radio stations.

The success of the tracks led to Niraj recording a BBC session at their Maida Vale studios, and the song 'Nomad' was selected to be the itunes free download of the week in June 2006.