Coke Studio 10

[ghazi52]

Exclusive: Coke Studio 10

Junoon


KARACHI: For a show that singlehandedly changed the course of Pakistani music, the completion of 10 years is a huge milestone. Not only because anything remotely related to Pakistani music lasts that long but also because these 10 years mean as much to the Pakistani music scene.

Like it or not, you have to accept that Pakistani music is not the same since Coke Studio arrived with a band. For many, it came like a blessing – for others, it came like a curse that made corporate control of the music industry the only way out of its crises. Other corporations were quick to jump the bandwagon, though mostly not proving to be as successful.

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

This time around, the expectations are even higher. If its 10 years for Coke Studio, its 70 years for Pakistan and both complement each other quite organically. The show, since its inception under Rohail Hyatt’s tutelage has been interwoven with the multicultural spirit of the Pakistani identity hence their famous tagline: Sound of the Nation.

Since Strings took over the show in 2014, it was rumoured that Coke Studio was a 10-year deal to begin with, and after String’s third, Rohail will come back and give a great grand farewell to fans with season 10. That has just proven to be another rumour as Strings gear up for the biggest season in the show’s history with nine different producers and various tributes to the stalwarts of the industry.

Faakhir is out, so is Sheraz Uppal and Noori, as Salman Ahmed, Sajjad Ali, Mekaal Hasan, Ali Hamza (as solo artist), Sahir Ali Bagga and Strings join the remaining producers of last year’s lineup. In our previous analysis we had mentioned a Junaid Jamshed tribute but it seems like he’s not the only one being acknowledged this year.

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

Sources inform The Express Tribune that each producer’s set will feature at least one tribute song, and the tributes range from an ode to Faiz Ahmed Faiz in the form of Bol Kay Lab Azaad Hain ft Shafqat Amanat Ali to Dum Mast Qalandar ft Umair Jaswal and a Qawwal party as one to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Sehwan Sharif.

Ali Sethi will remember Mehdi Hasan by singing Ranjish Hi Sahi while Ali Zafar, Ali Hamza and Strings will join forces in Us Rah Par to remember Junaid Jamshed. More tributes are to follow with a wider roster of producers and the songs, like always, songs will mostly be covers and folk tunes with every producer giving a minimum of one original song each.

People are terming Ahmed Jehanzeb and Shafqat Amanat Ali’s original number with Shuja Haider as the next Khaaki Banda while Ali Zafar is all set to bring something very similar to Rockstar to the table. Apart from featuring separately, Danyal Zafar will play the guitar in one of Ali Zafar’s song, making it the first time the two brothers will be seen in a song together.

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

Sajjad Ali’s daughter Zau Ali, who was so far known for her skills as a videographer will also feature in an English song being produced by her father. Rahat and most likely Ali Noor will join Salman Ahmed in a new rendition of Sayonee after what has been termed as a second fall out between Salman and Ali Azmat.

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

Apparently there was an actual Junoon reunion on the cards and Ali Azmat was also on board but things didn’t work out at the eleventh hour. We will share the details of this in our upcoming write-up on Coke Studio 10. Aamir Zaki will play on a track being produced by Jaffar Zaidi in what will prove to be his farewell performance.

With so much nostalgia and so many scattered emotions at play, Coke Studio 10 is bound to give us the feels. Especially when so many young and unknown faces are also set to partake in it. The show will kick off on August 14 with a collaborative rendition of Pakistan’s national anthem.

Here are all the artists involved this time around:

Producers

Shuja Haider

Shaani

Sahir Ali Bagga

Salman Ahmed

Ali Hamza

Jaffar Zaidi

Strings

Sajjad Ali

Mekaal Hasan



Artists we know so far

Humaira Channa

Rahat Fateh Ali

Amanat Ali

Zau Ali ( Sajjad Ali’s daughter)

Ali Zafar

Daniyal Zafar

Strings

Farhan Saeed

Momina Mustehsan

Untitled girl’s chorus

Salman Ahmed

Ataullah Eesakhelvi

Shafqat Amanat Ali

Aima Baig

Ahmed Jehanzeb

Umair Jaswal

Ali Sethi

Humaira Arshad

QB

Nabeel Shaukat

Jabbar Abbas

Natasha Khan



Songs to look forward to

Us Rah Par

Qaumi Tarana

Dam Mast Qalandar

Asan Yaar Manana Ae

Ranjish Hee Sahi

Lathay Dee Chadar

Sayonee

Mujhse Pehli See Mohabbat

Jaanay Baharaaan

 

[ghazi52]

Challenges that face Coke Studio 10

Over the past few years, Coke Studio has become an idea of its own. It represents all that has been missing in the mainstream Pakistani narrative – the colours, the vibrancy and a gamut of ideas that we need Pakistan to be represented by, especially in such difficult times.

It’s in fact a ray of hope, particularly for Pakistanis living abroad, who seek refuge in every Bulleh Shah verse being rendered on the show. But the million dollar question remains as to what purpose Coke Studio serves in terms of the music industry at large and more importantly how has the show evolved as it approaches its tenth anniversary this year.

Anyone who wants to be a hit artist can make a viral video these days but if one wants credibility attached to his or her name, then Coke Studio is ‘the’ platform. It’s almost as if your music industry is being run on fizzy drinks.

Despite all the hype and grandeur attached with the show, it is slowly running out of steam and original ideas. You can’t tell one Coke Studio song from another as it plays on radio and the Sufi obsession is bringing even more monotony to the episodes. The show has too many things to reinvent as it approaches a decade-old status.

Old guard vs new guard

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

The biggest challenge for the show is to bridge the gap between the indie scene and the mainstream musicians. The Dynomans and the SomeWhatSuper’s need to be pulled out of their basements and offered a bigger platform so that we as an industry can embrace the era of new-age music without any qualms or reservations.

Bringing a new set of musicians, technicians or merely people with an innovative approach to sound mixing can quadruple the impact Coke Studio already has as a music show. That is the only way for the show to permeate and fuse within a whole different set of listeners globally; else, doing more of the same only brings more of the same to the table.


The format is the same this year. We have multiple music producers working under Strings to produce music with a set house band and also with some featuring musicians. According to sources, the likes of Sahir Ali Bagga are on board and so is Ali Hamza as a solo producer along with almost the same line-up as the previous season. This calls for an important point raised by several producers and featuring musicians as to what is the role division between Strings and the featuring producers.

Let’s say, if Noori are the music directors and Strings are the producers then don’t their work and vision overlap? And if they do then who makes the final call? Whoever does, one thing is for sure that if the featuring producer is not given the creative freedom he requires then there’s no point of having too many cooks, since they’ll only spoil the broth.

With Coke Studio already being an established brand, it’s about time they indulge in a few experiments just for the heck of innovation, and not just producing hits.

Individual seasons

It’s quite clear that the success of the multiple-producer approach taken by Coke Studio @ MTV (Coke Studio India) inspired us to take a similar route. Our approach is slightly different though – instead of giving a complete episode to every producer, Coke Studio compiles one song of each producer into every episode. This way the episode gets more diverse but none of the producer’s work is adequately noticed and the audiences end up hating on or judging one particular producer without listening to the rest of his music.

Indian producers like Clinton Cyrejo and Amit Trivedi shot to fame right after their stint at Coke Studio because their complete package was strong in multiple ways and the show proved to be an immediate release medium for their short albums. Not many people would have disliked Fakhir had the likes of Jhaliya been released alongside Afreen Afreen.

Original music

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

Original music, original music and original music – the lack of it has become a chronic problem with Coke Studio. With almost every passing season the title cover studio is becoming more relevant to the show than anything else.

It is certainly encouraging to see fresh faces dish out one great cover after another at Nescafe Basement; it is equally depressing to see veteran musicians with a plethora of original music under their belt stressing so much on cover songs. With Strings themselves being so good at writing catchy songs it’s about time we get to listen to original music – that too in abundance, even if it features new and upcoming artists.

Junaid Jamshed

The shocking demise of Junaid Jamshed has aggrieved everyone who grew up listening to Vital Signs and the maestro’s solo music. His bittersweet voice represents a glorious and eminent yet a rebellious phase of Pakistani music and pop culture and it would be unfair if we don’t embrace that wholeheartedly.

The burning question is whether Coke Studio will feature a Junaid Jamshed tribute in their upcoming season or not. Keeping his contradictions in mind, it will be a very tricky decision to make but for the sake of his voice and star power, some sort of acknowledgment needs to be made even if it is only in the pre-release launch anthem.

However, JJ’s religious inclination may not be the only hurdle in the celebration of his legacy; an equally important factor would be JJ being an extension of Rohail Hyatt’s influence on pop music and him not being a part of Coke Studio anymore. If Strings along with other decisionmakers of Coke Studio can dive into, and resolve these issues, then we’re definitely in for a fun-filled season 10.

 

[American Pakistani]

No Abida Perveen.

 

[ghazi52]

Coke Studio 10: A season of tributes that is too star-studded to be true?

By Asif Nawaz

Coke Studio commences its 10th season this August, and expectations are a little greater owing to its glorious anniversary.

You cannot make everyone happy. And nowhere does this apply more fittingly than to every offering of Pakistan’s musical opus: Coke Studio. The show, a success story like no other, has put Pakistan on the global culture map, but continues to divide opinions roaringly, more so of late.

If the show plays it safe with covers, it’s unoriginal; if it delves into too much innovation, it becomes another Nescafe Basement. Navigating through the public complaints doesn’t always seem smooth for this show that has single-handedly rejuvenated Pakistan’s musical scene.


With the line-up for the latest season having just been released, the furore is already upon us. For some, there are far too many parchis (an in through networking/connections), while for others, it’s too star-studded to be true. While it’s only time that will tell how the latest season unfolds, the urge to indulge in presenting our two cents about it seems too tempting to resist.

Coke Studio commences its 10th season this August and expectations are a little greater owing to its glorious anniversary. Among the prominent artists who are making a comeback this year, the most notable ones include Humaira Channa, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Amanat Ali, Ali Zafar, Farhan Saeed, Momina Mustehsan, Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Ahmed Jehanzeb, Umair Jaswal, Ali Sethi, Quratulain Baloch (QB)and Nabeel Shaukat.

Moreover, Salman Ahmed makes his Coke Studio debut, but it’s unfortunate that it was unable to pull the coup it was planning this year – reuniting Junoon.

Amongst other newcomers are Zau Ali (Sajjad Ali’s daughter) and Danyal Zafar (Ali Zafar’s brother), and though it’s not intended to write off these two already, it does beg a question from us – does a platform as coveted as Coke Studio give into connections? Shouldn’t musical prowess be the only thing working for artistes featuring in Coke Studio?

Danyal Zafar (brother of Ali Zafar).

Strings roped in their roles as the producers of the season again. With minor altercations in the other producers (or sub-producers), the format essentially follows on from last year’s. There are no doubts that Rohail Hyatt will be missed this season as well, out of habit if not longing, and Strings will eventually be undermined in comparison.

Momina Mustehsan will continue to divide the nation, all the while also remaining our national crush. And it will be no surprise that all the covers done this season will once again inspire heated debate amongst the listeners.

Momina Musteshan during the recording of her 3rd track in Coke Studio 9.

That brings us to the most important offering this season – the tributes. While calls for original music are always doing the rounds, it’s the renditions of popular songs that immediately catapult Coke Studio into the limelight. It was being said that the current season will feature a tribute to the late Junaid Jamshed. It does, and is also a jackpot for controversy, but it isn’t the only tribute.

Photo: Facebook

If reports are to be believed, every episode will feature one tribute song and the legends that will be paid homage to include Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Mehdi Hassan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and possibly Madam Noor Jehan as well. The tributes could go both ways for Coke Studio, for we have seen an immensely popular ‘Tajdar e Haram’ as well as a flat and flop ‘Chandi Raatein’ on the show.

Amongst other things to look forward to this season remains Ali Sethi’s ‘Ranjish Hi Sahi’, for he has always proved himself with classical music. Junaid Jamshed’s tribute has all our attention since it features Ali Zafar, Strings and Ali Hamza. Salman Ahmad will pair up with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Noor to redo the cult classic ‘Sayonee’. We’re also looking forward to QB’s solo performance, if she gets that long overdue endowment granted this season.

‘Mujh Se Pehli Si Mohabbat’, ‘Latthay Di Chadar’ and ‘Dama Dam Mast Qalandar’ are among the few songs which are sure to engage the attention of the audiences even before their release, owing to these being our national classics.

All in all, the artist and track line-up for Coke Studio season 10 seem interesting, but the show always has in it to go awfully wrong at times. Here’s hoping it doesn’t go downhill this time and gives us many more memorable tracks to blare through our stereos and fill in our iPods.

 

[Ocean]

Momina mustehsan is prolly the worst thing happened to coke studio. Cant believe they are taking her once again. Last coke studio should better have been named as Momina mustehsan season 9 she was like everywhere in every episode.
Worst thing about coke studio is parchi walay singers, like mehwish hayat, momina etc.

Just cause her father is an army officer he should not be utilizing his contacts to promote his below average in terms of talent daughter.

Ali zafar himself is the most baysura and talentless singer who managed to succeed due to looks and aping kishore kumars style, though his songs totlaly lack any soulful factor as he just does not have it in him. And now he is launching his brother , another parchi singer, daniyal zafar who i am sure is also not going to be any different form his brother.

Sajjad alis daughter zau ali- well lets see what another parchi singer gives. May be she turns out nice.

But coke studio loses every bit of charm when i think of momina, an awesome face but not the singer you want to hear.

Sahir ali bagga is a promising one , i hope he does something soulful, something like nusrat fateh khan stuff

 

[PakistaniNawab]

Umair jaswal ruins the songs that he is in and please give quratalian baloch a solo and give nassebo lal a punjabi song and coke studio should add pashto, sindhi and balochi songs only very few songs have been sang in them languages in coke studio also please no more ali sethi that dude cannot sing.

 

[Ocean]

Umair jaswal ruins the songs that he is in and please give quratalian baloch a solo and give nassebo lal a punjabi song and coke studio should add pashto, sindhi and balochi songs only very few songs have been sang in them languages in coke studio also please no more ali sethi that dude cannot sing.

Umair did spoil sammi meri waar what a beautiful song , Qb had saved the day.

How is this one from ali sethi, it is recent

By the way is it just me who thinks Shuja haiders voice resembles adnan samis, but shuja is a great singer

 

[PakistaniNawab]

Umair did spoil sammi meri waar what a beautiful song , Qb had saved the day.

How is this one from ali sethi, it is recent

To me he's voice is very slurry and he sounds drunk.

 

[Ocean]

To me he's voice is very slurry and he sounds drunk.

His voice reminds me of mohammad rafi.

Btw the worst one i totally forgot to mention and that is a parchi star Meesha shafi. Man why she sings sufi songs and stuff, she just does not even have that rawness in her like qb, plus she is not really a singing talent.

She only managed to ride on arif lohars tailcoat in jugni, now just cut it out, no more of her junk.

 

[PakistaniNawab]

His voice reminds me of mohammad rafi.

Btw the worst one i totally forgot to mention and that is a parchi star Meesha shafi. Man why she sings sufi songs and stuff, she just does not even have that rawness in her like qb, plus she is not really a singing talent.

She only managed to ride arif lohars tailcoat in jugni, now just cut it out, no more of her junk.

I liked her dasht tanhai song but the rest not that much.

 

[lastofthepatriots]

Give more time to Ataullah Khan. He's one of the few gems Pakistan has left.

 

[Zibago]

Salman Ahmed

@The Sandman @Hell hound @Moonlight
Inshallah
SAlman AHmad,Ataullah,Farhan Saeed,Rahet,QB boss fit hay ye

 

[Divergent]

Can't wait for Coke Studio season 10

 

[Pakistan92]

nice thanks keep it up

 

[ghazi52]

Danyal Zafar is all set to make a dashing musical debut with Coke Studio Season 10

As a solo artist, Danyal Zafar is working his way to being a blues musician and is currently working on his debut album.

He is serving as a music director alongside Ali Zafar in the latter’s debut Pakistani film Teefa in Trouble

Emerging artist Danyal Zafar who is also the younger brother of our very own iconic Ali Zafar, is all set to make his music debut with the tenth edition of Coke Studio, stated a press release. The versatile singer, songwriter and guitarist Danyal Zafar will be performing two songs in the upcoming season of Pakistan’s leading musical series.

In a conversation about his debut, Danyal Zafar remarked: “I always dreamt of a debut that could best help me express myself as an artist in such a way that my music could also connect with people. There are two aspects to this, one: the platform where you launch your music, this is where I was lucky enough to be considered worthy of appearing on Coke Studio – a dream comes true. Two: the music itself. He added, “Sometimes when you are working on a song that’s already been created, it’s a gamble – whether or not it’s going to be something you’ll like or whether is it true to your essence as a musician or not. I am glad that I have been very fortunate in both instances.”

Discussing his experience, he stated, “As far as my experience is concerned, it was like these two extremes, on one end there was this slight pressure and nervousness – the fact that musicians I’ve grown up listening to are right there, watching and waiting for me to prove myself. And when it happened, it was just so overwhelming.”

He further quipped, “Everyone involved, on and off the stage, was so amazing in their own individual capacity as artists, they empowered me so much and by the time we got done I was in this surreal state of trance. I couldn’t hear anything, all the post recording banter was suddenly in super slow-mo, voices fading out like I was in a movie. It took me a while to absorb everything. I am very exciting about putting my work out there and to growing as a musician in the years to come.”

Having found passion for music at a very early age, Danyal first pursued music professionally recording guitar tracks for his brother Ali Zafar’s songs at the age of 14.

As a solo artist, Danyal Zafar is working his way to being a blues musician and is currently working on his debut album. He is also serving as a music director alongside Ali Zafar in the latter’s debut Pakistani film Teefa in Trouble and is also a brand ambassador for leading brands.