" 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 videos, 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 alchemy 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.
So… it’s not simple. It’s a process, as much as an end result. It’s not about isolation (and it is). It’s a big world , in a small space. And it sounds damn good! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.”
" 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: