About Mud Doll
Catalogue Number: BUZZCD22
LP Release Date: 06/2015
Label: Buzz-erk Records
An introduction to Mud Doll
The question is:
What makes a human being?
Our Physical body
Our Loves
Our Experiences
Our Allegiances
Our Beliefs
Our Knowledge
Our Reflections
The people we leave behind
Close your eyes and imagine your own body. Now imagine that body is empty, like a shell. Now imagine filling up that body with everything that is ‘you’. What does your essence look like? What is it made of?
Stories Behind the songs
Niraj’s notes on the album, track by track:
Maa:
“Life is a fight to survive – it’s a struggle. You are a survivor – to be alive is a miraculous gift and it begins with Maa!”
Rang Diya:
“To see the rain for the first time, to play without fear, to surrender, to run free! To see the world through a child’s eyes! “
Chamba:
“To leave this nest you have built is the greatest pain! I am no longer yours and you no longer mine!”
Khudawand Khuda:
“There is only one king, he is nature, he is the space between everything and nothing, he is the creator and the observer. He is the universe and the universe is he.”
Sab Qurban:
“With love in my heart, joy in my soul, a smile on my old face – I give you everything!”
Badal Baras:
“I died yesterday! Today I have been reborn! Through the storm and chaos I live to see another day!”
The Land I Was Born On:
“You are me and I am you! Our blood is the same colour. I am separated from you merely by the land that I happen to be born on!”
Mud Doll:
“You are the piece of the puzzle, without which, the universe would not exist!”
Beh Challe:
“Though I have lost you, you have left behind sweet memories and
your sweet words will echo in our hearts.”
Kali Ghata:
“Dark, rain bearing clouds are spreading over. They envelop me, consume me as I think of you. Oh when will I see you again my love?”
The Only Sadness:
“Some call me a sage, Some a heretic, Whatever the world says, I do not care for it! The only sadness I bear is of your separation!”
Requiem:
“O great soul, please give this human soul eternal peace.
May your love spread through this life and the next.”
The Blue:
“The flame has been extinguished, but the beauty of each snapshot is eternal. Blessed are you to have walked this wondrous world as a human, as a divine mud doll. “
Tracklist / Credits
1. MAA
GUITAR – NIKI MUKHI
2. RANG DIYA
VOCALS – JAPJIT KAUR
3. CHAMBA
VOCALS – NAWAZISH ALI KHAN & JAPJIT KAUR
4. SAB QURBAN
VOCALS – NAWAZISH ALI KHAN
5. KHUDAWAND KHUDA
VOCALS – NAWAZISH ALI KHAN
6. BADAL BARAS
VOCALS – SVETA HATTANGDI
7. THE LAND I WAS BORN ON
VIOLIN SOLO – NAWAZISH ALI KHAN
8. MUD DOLL
VOCALS – PRITI MENON
BACKING VOCALS – MELISSA BATEN
SARANGI – ILYAS KHAN
9. BEH CHALLE
VOCALS – JAPJIT KAUR
ALAAP VOCALS – NAWAZISH ALI KHAN
10. KALI GHATA
VOCALS – SVETA HATTANGDI
11. MUD DOLL (AMBIENT MIX)
VOCALS – MELISSA BATEN
SARANGI – ILYAS KHAN
12. THE ONLY SADNESS
VOCALS – JAPJIT KAUR
13. REQUIEM
VOCALS – PRITI MENON
14. THE BLUE
ALL TRACKS PRODUCED, RECORDED, ARRANGED AND MIXED BY
NIRAJ CHAG AT BUZZ-ERK STUDIOS LONDON
ALL INSTRUMENTATION BY NIRAJ CHAG
MASTERED BY NIRAJ CHAG AT BUZZ-ERK STUDIOS LONDON
TRACKS 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 – LYRICS BY JAPJIT KAUR
PHOTOGRAPHY – AJAY CHAG
ARTWORK DESIGN – DIVYA VENKATESH
LYRIC TRANSLATIONS – DENYSE ANYOGU
DIGITAL PRODUCER – RISHI COUPLAND
MUD DOLL.COM WEB DESIGN – HELEN COUPLAND
Lyric Translations Of The Songs
Chamba
V1:
Father! Your love always held me, but in an instant I am unknown to you.
Don’t send me too far, my heart will not bear this separation.
Chorus:
Ours is a sparrow’s nest O friend
At the behest of my mother
I fly away joined with my husband to be.
V2:
Mother, O Mother! The traditions of old have made me an outcast.
Make my dolls and toys your treasure should you ever miss me.
Bridge:
These traditions and rituals have made me a stranger to you.
Sab Qurban
V1:
The time of happiness is here
Beside it are treasures of love
May you keep smiling always, may you always shine
May you dwell in my heart till the end of time.
Chorus:
You are my heart, my love, my life
All I am I lay down for you
My love, my heart, my life
I sacrifice everything for you.
V2:
Your face is more beautiful than blossoms
You glow like the light of the moon
My heart desires only our bond
You, the object of my love
Reign over my heart
May you keep smiling always, may you always shine
May you dwell in my heart till the end of time.
Khudawand Khuda
V1
They call you Ram, some Rahim and others Kareem!
They call you El Shaddai, Yeshua, Ellohim and HaShem!
Formless, creator, provider!
Chorus
‘You alone’ King Almighty!
In your name the whole universe is alive
‘You alone’ King Almighty!
V2:
You are the narrative of love
The light of the eye
Speaking forth the night, morning, dawn and dusk
Unfailingly with me, in front of me
Behind, above and below
Each droplet of rain knows you as master
In your blessing is the peace of all creation.
V3:
Far from all, yet entwined within all, Lord of forever
Infinitely patient abundant Lord!
You know the heart of man, you hear each praying soul
All who are lost and wandering will find you
It matters not ones colour, creed or religion
Father of all!
In your blessing is the peace of creation.
Bridge:
My Lord, Oh my Master!
Mud Doll
V1:
I am not a traveller, neither a form of desire or attachment
I am not a home made of bricks
A Temple, a Mosque
I am no palace
Neither prayer, victory or loss
Or sacrifice.
Chorus:
I am a mud doll assembled of the elements
I am stardust, nature’s game
In me is the universe, I am from the Universe
I am Moondust, nature’s game.
V2:
I am not prostration, King, neither root, foundation or core
Neither knowledge, or meditation am I
I am not action, birth or death
I am not a stream of breath, body or soul
Neither am I the thing from which life flows.
Beh Challe:
Chorus:
Our tears flow away with you
Left are only sweet memories
Without you, all else is gloom
This sole legacy of sweet memories.
V1:
Your beloved words will echo in our hearts.
V2:
These tearstained eyes will seek you
forever watching over your path.
The Only Sadness:
V1:
I bow my head at the temple of your love
Some call me pious
Some a heathen, yes a faithless one!
Some call me innocent
Some Naïve
Some are in reverence of me
Yet some see a demon in me
They say I speak the words of an ascetic
Some say that I am a soul that is hungry
Yes, and thirsty for love!
Chorus:
Of what the world may say, I am not concerned
My only sadness is this separation from you.
V2:
Above me lies the earth and beneath me the skies
And even in hell I snatch a small glimpse of paradise
These beautiful mornings are veiled in darkness
Yet once in a while, a stray prayer
Holding a blessing comes my way.
Album Reviews
“Ultimately this is the perfect collection of songs on the best album of the year so far and that is why it gets a perfect score – 5 stars” (Eastern Eye on Mud Doll) *Also named album of the year 2015 in December Issue.
Click here to read the Songlines Review
Click here to read the Punjab2000 Review
Press Release
Prolific Musician And Composer Niraj Chag to release third studio album.
Niraj Chag will release his third studio album, titled Mud Doll, on 22 June 2015. The album will be preceded by the release of a single in May and an interactive website, The Mud Doll Portal, which will be accessible from 11 May.
The new album Mud Doll has been seven years in the making and will feature 14 tracks, multiple vocalists and a variety of musical styles from around the globe, including Qawali, Folk, Flamenco and Classical. Four tracks from the album have been earmarked as singles, with the lead single set to be Rang Diya, due for release in May.
The Mud Doll Portal , which launches on 11 May in advance of the album, features a new way of experiencing music based on the associations between music, psychology and emotional response. Anyone who uses the website will be asked six questions, and based on their answers they will be served a personalised musical experience based some of the key music from the album.
The Mud Doll Portal was developed in conjunction with digital agency Doosra Digital, who have created a new web algorithm specifically for this project. The algorithm was developed following a research project with over 100 volunteers, and use of statistical analysis. It is believed to be the first time that anyone has built an algorithm linking psychological themes to an album in this way.
Niraj said today: “Mud Doll questions what it is that makes a human being – is it your beliefs, your upbringing, your memories, your body, the people you’ve left behind? Each track in the album looks at that question from a different angle. Musically I believe it’s my most complete album yet, especially in terms of the quality of the production and the breadth of the music. By using The Mud Doll Portal people will really understand the themes of the album at a deeper level.”
Mud Doll follows Niraj’s 2009 album The Lost Souls, described by the BBC as “Simply gorgeous”, and Niraj’s 2006 debut release Along the Dusty Road, which won him an Asian Music Award. The albums also led to a Maida Vale session and atmospheric live set at the Roundhouse as part of the Electric Proms. Single ‘The Nomad’ went on to be selected as itunes single of the week.
-ENDS-
