Blah Blah from The TeaBreak Team.

Coke Studio came, saw and conquered and hope that it will keep conquering. The first episode INDIVIDUALITY has gotten rave reviews. I have listened tracks whole week and thought to blog something about what effect they have left on me. Starting with Aj Latha Nayeeo, this composition is a rave fusion of east meets rock, true to the essence of Coke Studio. Javed Bashir’s vocals give you a rush which is perfectly aligned with the maestro of drumming Gumby.  But it would be important to say that Jawad Bashir has not given full justice to the lyrics (like Atif and Noori have given) because if you ask your beloved in that aggressive tone, s/he would go instantly forget staying for a while.

Then comes Paimona. If you’re Zeb and Haniya fan, you might not like this in a first go simply because the original version was so soulful and mellow. But after hearing coke studio version 3^rd or 4^th time, you feel wow and it is a possibility than you like it more than the original which happened in my case… it simply grows over you. The rubab and matka adds a rustic touch to it and vocals of Zeb Bangash as smooth as silk. I have always found Persian to be a very romantic language, and the fact that Paimona is Omer Khayyam’s Rubayi makes it even more special because of the mystical connection. The Pashto/Darri in original version always sounded kind of ajeeb once you know the words. I am not fan of that language; maybe time will expose me to its beauty as everything has something awe-inspiring.

Khamaj’s arrangements was average and Shafqat’s pretentious vocals didn’t bring anything new to the table so this was utter disappointment to say the least and I will prefer saying that much only.

After that intolerable performance, rock star comes on the stage. Atif Aslam did such an awesome job. The arrangement makes you groove whereas Atif’s vocals are nothing less than a genius. He presents you with variety of moods, perfect for that very moment in the ocean of words and the way he gels Khan Saheb’s song is remarkable… a lot of people will be getting jealous but they can’t deny the sheer brilliance of this singer. The song ends as if it is lost in the wind like a fragrance. Natasha D’souza and Selina did an amazing job with backing vocals and it was evident that everyone in the house had fun making this masterpiece.

And the saved the best of the last. Once you listen either Saeein Zahoor (or Abida Parveen), you cannot help but fall in love with their music. Saeein Zahoor and Noori collaborate on Aik Alif which is Bulleh Shah’s kalam. Saeein Zahoor leads the stage with his aura and heritage, after which noori takes things forward and how giftedly! I never expected something of this caliber from noori, Ali Hamza is mesmerizing with his deep vocals and banjo guitar whereas Ali Noor gives rock a real sufi touch and not something superficial like Junoon always did. I don’t want to go into more details because the best doesn’t need to be described, I guess it is the power of the kalam which transcends. Rohail Hayat the mastermind behind this project said in an interview, “Can you imagine what this will be like when young Noori fans see them with Saieen Zahoor? Because Noori are cool and they are singing with Saieen, suddenly Saieen will become cool to some who do not know him at all.” This itself speaks of the dearth of promotion and pride that we have built in our nation for our artists.

M. Omair with his team at Creative Chaos and Selina(yeah the same lady who did backup vocals) at The Lotus PR has did an exceptional job with online marketing on facebook page and their site which has given the fans and critique a platform for interaction and for them a chance to rejoice the quality this product has offered. As far as the visuals are concerned, the image quality is unmatched but I have always found Zeeshan Parvez to be overrated in his directorial and dop capacity but here he was able to pull off a decent job, maybe because of the presence of Adnan Malik. He did awesome job with Paimona and Aik Alif. Else was only good in parts. But then it is good enough for general public. The quality of music is more important actually. I liked Sohail Javed’s work which had technical brilliance without the best of cameras and at the same time the raw live feel to it. Let’s see if it is able to keep up with the expectations for the next episodes, last time the excellence of fusion decreased with each episode though experimentation was still there. Hope for the best and that there are less blunders like Khamaj.Hail

This cup of tea was served by: LINGO OF MY INNER VOICE