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All thoughts presented in this article are purely based on my personal observations and experience playing various musical instruments, specially, the piano, ukulele, sitar, guitar, and drums.
Let’s talk about how Coke Studio Pakistan has transformed over the years – from a general perspective, the transformation is seen as an improvement. Titles such as Pasoori and Peechay Hutt rely on digital musical instruments such as synthesizers to provide a “disco-like” listening experience. However, this also means that their music has transformed almost entirely. The absence of a diverse range of musical instruments utilized in the earlier seasons of Coke Studio Pakistan has weakened the “desi” essence of their songs. I see this change as a shift from traditional music to modern music which takes away the Pakistani essence from their musical compositions. However, a few titles from Season 14, for example, Tu Jhoom, vocalized by Naseebo Lal and Abida Parveen, and Kana Yari, sung by Kaifi Khalil, present a fusion of “desi” and electronic dance music by utilizing a diverse range of digital and traditional musical instruments. Coke Studio Pakistan has produced a few songs that portrayed themes from different regions of Pakistan. A title released during Coke Studio Season 9 circa 2016, called Paar Chanaa De narrates a tragic love story from a village in Punjab.
As people’s taste in music has changed over time, Coke Studio Pakistan has taken the leap and switched to producing either rap-exclusive titles such as Phir Milenge (Season 14) or composing creative fusions of desi and electronic dance music. Under the slogan, “Sound of the Nation”, I believe, that a shift to modern music only, without fusing it with traditional forms of music to create something unique, is unsettling. To provide a clearer picture, Ali Zafar’s Sindhi song, “Allay”, is a great example of how traditional music, electronic dance music, and rap has been fused in a single composition that sounds catchy.
However, I also believe that Coke Studio is able to cater to a wider audience by incorporating multiple popular genres of music in a single song. People are always looking for something new, therefore following a trend strongly supported by emerging pop/rap artists such as Taha G, Maanu, Young Stunners, Abdul Hannan, and Rovalio, will probably prove beneficial to Coke Studio Pakistan’s popularity.
Coke Studio Pakistan and successful Pakistani artists such as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, and many more can collaborate to represent Pakistan’s form of South Asian Music on a national level. I believe that the audience, Coke Studio Pakistan, and the entire music industry of the nation must continue to appreciate the complexity of South Asian music. The variety of scales, rhythm variations, and styles found in this genre of music are nowhere else to be found. It is a form of expression that has lasted for over a span of centuries. We must stand by our style of music, a style that belongs to the nation, a style that is indigenous to us.
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