After enthralling audiences last season, Coke Studio is back!
The Coke Studio musical journey is back this summer for a brand new season of unparalleled performances straight from the heart of the live recording studio. For the second year running, the show will feature electrifying musical and vocal collaborations, to produce some of the most magical improvised melodies and singing, with an all-star artist line up. Coke Studio debuted on June 14, with sessions that will culminate in an Independence Day special.
This year, Coke Studio looks to reignite Pakistani passion and pride by chronicling a journey through a series of episodes, each of which is based specifically, on distinct philosophies showcasing a multi-faceted Pakistani identity: Individuality, Harmony, Equality, Spirit and Unity. Each of these different themes will be highlighted separately in the various episodes through a selection and combination of artists, collaborations, music and melody. Thus individual artists will combine and feature over several different thematic episodes; a testament to their creativity, range and musical versatility.
Witness the versatile Ali Zafar back on the set in a folk fusion avatar with flutist Baqir Abbas and Ali Hamza on the Banjo as well as the return of Strings for one collaborative song with the Coke Studio house band. This season also heralds an appearance by acclaimed artist Arieb Azhar; a solo performance by musician Gurpreet Chana; classical maestro Riaz Ali Khan fusing with music icon Atif Aslam; the pairing of Javed Bashir’s vocal prowess with Zeb & Haniya’s soul and Saddiq Sameer’s Rabab; the sublime spirituality of Saieen Zahoor in harmony with Noori’s raw energy along with Rakae Jamil’s sitar; Gul Mohammad’s Sarangi with Shafqat Amanat Ali’s scintillating sargarms, ultimately blending with JoSH and Gurpreet Chana’s dhol and tabla beats.
Season Two also encompasses the Coke Studio power-house band with a broader and exciting range of talent with the likes of Babar Khanna on dholak, Kamran “Mannu” Zafar on bass, Louis “Gumby” Pinto on drums, Omran “Momo” Shafique on guitar, Saba Shabbir on backing vocals and Zulfiq “Shazee” Ahmed Khan on multi percussions. New additions this year are house band members Assad Ahmed, also on guitar, Jaffer Zaidi on the keyboard, Javed Iqbal on violin, Natasha De Sousa as backing vocalist, Sikander on dholak and Waris Baloo on multi percussions.
Coke Studio can be experienced this season on all the favourite television channels and radio stations across Pakistan – and online as well, on www.cokestudio.com.pk