Sunday, September 11, 2016

Music Review Coke Studio S9 Episode 5: A Mixed Bag of Surprises!

I would put down episode 5 as a mixed bag of surprises. I must confess that it did take some time for me to sink in some of these compositions, but gradually I have developed a liking for most of the tracks now. I would call this an 'overdose syndrome'! With so much overdose of good music, one is in a mental dilemma on hearing more of such compositions whether to like it to the same degree or not! Perhaps if I had listened to some of these compositions independently I would have developed an instant liking. But with superlative precedents such as Afreen in case of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Man Kunto Maula in case of Javed Bashir, one is reluctant and cautious to cede any more superlative adulations! However the more you listen and dissolve into these compositions, the more you appreciate the effort and the quality of outcome! So perhaps this post is for the ones sitting on the fence to delve a little more into these compositions and appreciate the creativity. In general most of the compositions in this episode have an interesting vocal melody! There is a good experimentation in terms of raag and fusion of contrasting vocal textures.

Jhalliya


Composed by Faakhir Mehmood, Sung by Javed Bashir Masooma Anwar & Shahzad Nawaz
Link to lyrics here

One can be rest assured of some high quality melody rendition when a classical virtuoso like Javed Bashir has his stamp on it. Same is true of Jhalliya! Javed Bashir again comes up with a masterly vocal performance displaying his range, singing style, soulfulness and effortless variations all packaged in a single performance.

While a superlative performance from Javed is not really unexpected, what did come as a pleasant surprise is Masooma Anwar's vocals! Open and bold sounding with a sufiana touch, she managed to give Javed good competition in terms of listeners attention span! Also loved the poetry recitation part. Somehow this concept goes quite well with songs of this genre( remember Mori Araj Suno by Tina Saini?). And Shahzad Nawaz's heavy, bass-filled voice goes so well with the music!

Coming to the arrangement, this composition has a soft rock-sufi feel to it with good fusion of instruments. Faakhir Mehmood has done a great job in putting together this arrangement. The base foundation of the arrangement is on the creative bass line and electric guitars giving the rock-ish feel, while the dholak all throughout and banjo at places bring the classical feel. The Banjo interlude at 04:31 is an interesting addition in between the vocals. Strings section add a beautiful dimension at places especially at the latter half of the composition. (For example the beautiful filler at 02:31 that carries forward the melody from where Javed left). The backing vocalists too do a wonderful job overall. At places they accompany the main vocalist and at another instance they sing in an off-scale harmonising with the main melody subtly.

The composition climaxes beautifully with Masuma and the backing vocalists singing the chorus while Javed does the flawless sargam to end on a high. Overall a very pleasant composition inviting you to listen repeatedly and cherish the various layers Faakhir has very creatively put together!

Shamaan Pai Gayaan/ Kee Dam Da


Composed by Shiraz Uppal, Sung by Kashif Ali & Rachel Viccaji
Link to lyrics here

One thing Coke Studio quite easily manages to do is to bring together vocalists who contrast and complement each other very well. Be it Ali Azmat-Javed Bashir, Rahat-Momina, Ahmed Jahanzeb-Umair Jaswal and the list goes on! Same is true of this composition too! Kashif Ali brings soulfulness while Rachel Viccaji brings power. And Shiraz Uppal with his beautiful arrangement is able to stitch together a musical delight!

Kashif actually reminds me of Mulaazim from last season who too had a husky texture and conveyed emotions (especially the pain) of the composition beautifully thorough his vocals. On the other hand Rachel, the relatively shorter one among the backing vocalist trio, stands tall here with her power packed performance! Her amazing stability and texture at lower notes and energetic throw at the higher pitch sections is indeed a goosebumps-inducing performance!  She also brings in a naughty feel with her western style falsetto vocals at places.

The composition clearly has two distinct arrangements - one for the soulful Kashif's part and the other for rock-ish Rachel's part which alternates beautifully in this wonderfully concocted fusion. Kashif's part is primarily on keys and acoustic guitar which sets the chord structure. Flute interludes every now and then creating a beautiful feel, while the strings and choral section fill the air beautifully. Rachel's part is completely driven my the electric guitars and the bass line aided by the drums and shifts the genre to a rock number. There are many instrumental improvisations in the whole track - the bass-hammering by  at 04:40, the electric guitar intro riff before Rachel's part at 03:25 and the beautiful buildup in end where all instruments come together - flute, strings, guitars and drums.

The melody is incredibly beautiful. Co-incidentally both the tracks have been previously sung by Naseebo Lal. There is slight convergence in the melodic patterns between the two compositions which the composer used to stitch the two pieces cleverly! The first part is primarily on the major scale, but has used 'komal dha' and 'komal ni' beautifully at the end of chorus parts giving a totally different feel which coincides with the second song thus enabling the fusion. Second song uses the komal dha and ni notes beautifully making me guess that it's on raag Charukesi (Would love to know your thoughts on this).

Overall this one is a smart fusion at various levels - melody, genre, instrumentation, vocalist style and energy levels! Rachel is a pleasant revelation in this one and Kashif, a great introduction to this platform. Hope that we see more of them in the coming times. Would definitely advise you to take multiple hearings to digest this fusion!

Sadaa


Composed by Shani Arshad, Sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Link to lyrics here

Sadaa is a delight to classical aficionados and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan makes sure he displays all the text-book classical nuances in a single performance! Be it sargams, taans, a tarana, subtle harkats, alaaps and a beautiful jugal-bandi with the dhol throughout as he synchs to its beat!

The arrangement is quite contemporary with the use of bass, guitars and drums throughout along with the dhol. Strings section show up during interludes and during the antara. There is also a brief sitar portion towards the end. So overall a diverse arrangement which needs to be appreciated carefully underneath Rahat's powerful rendition!

Melodically the composition (originally created by Rahat himself) has beautifully used 'komal ga' and 'komal ni' throughout making me guess that it's from Kaafi thaat in terms of the raag. What is also noteworthy in the arrangement is the creative use of of percussions and nice experimentation with beat time-signatures (Shani Arshad, the composer also mentions this in the BTS video).

Maybe not the kind of song that I can listen on loop anytime of the day, but this will definitely go into my classical-fusion playlist for frequent hearings :-)

Main Raasta


Composed by Noori, Sung by Momina Mustehsan & Junaid Khan
Link to lyrics here

When variety, fusion and experimentation is more the rule than an exception, a one-off attempt to get through with a clichéd pop-rock composition perhaps doesn't seem enough for this platform! That seems to be the problem with Main Raasta. The composition is indeed quite catchy but not the kind you have not heard before. It's on your typical major-scale-four-chord combination. Use of bass-line is quite creative and something I loved instantly. There is also your customary lead guitar interlude which is brilliantly done! I think the brief cameo by Momina appearing to play the lead guitar was unnecessary! :) Personally I felt the composition got somewhat chaotic in the end with many voices making the chorus (reminded me of With or Without You at 04:12! Anyone else?). The starting guitar patch clearly reminded me of Michael Jackson's Black and White (which Ali Noor actually acknowledges in the BTS video). The scale transposition is quite interesting but I would rate the one in 'Jaane Na Tu' higher than this.

Overall a number that'll definitely grow on you if you like this genre. But definitely an average number in relative terms  compared to the other tracks in this episode.

So overall not a disappointing episode for sure and mind you, achieving that is no small feat given some of the masterpieces that have emerged this season! The musical dose should definitely last for a week I hope. Else you can always go back to Afreen or Paar Chanaa De! :)

- Prabhu
musicdilseblog@gmail.com


7 comments:

  1. Loved your subtle critique of Main Raasta! Another admirable write up Prabhu.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Prabhu,

    Loved your review on Shamaan Pai Gaiyaan/ Kee Dam Da Bharosa. I had reviewed this song too.

    I'll post my thought on this wonderful composition

    Review of:
    Shamaan Pai Gaiyaan/ Kee Dam Da Bharosa
    Coke Studio Season 9

    Another gem to come out from Pakistan Coke Studio repertoire. Essentially two old song, redone, in contemporary format. Each, by itself, is outstanding piece of music.
    First song is a love ballad that's sung soulful by Kashif Ali. He could get the feel of lover's despondency, spot on, in singing. You get wrapped with melancholia when he sings:
    Vas na challe taqdeer te
    Haar ke bah gaiya
    Aaja dil diya jaaniya
    Shama pai gaiyan
    I cannot change anything,
    It's my fate.
    And I accept my defeat
    I sink, I've lost all hopes.
    Come, please come, you my beloved,
    the day has turned to dusk.
    Just then song's mood changes, drastically. Trust me, you are in for a surprise. It's gets upbeat and funky. Rachel Viccaji comes and rocks like there is no tomorrow. Starts with low notes, giving an eerie start and then progressively moves to higher notes. She does it such incredible finesses, that this new entrant, in the world of music, would put established pop/rock singers, to shame. Lyrics get more philosophcal and talk of the uncertainty of life with a message that when we are not sure of the next breath, it stands to reason, to let go, all the differences and befriend ourselves. A message, in these troubled times, for political establishments, on both sides of LOC.
    Kee dam da bharosa yaar
    Dam aawe nah aawe
    Chhadd jhagde te kariye pyaar
    Dam aawe na aawe!
    It's not just the two lead singers that makes this such a fabulous song, but, the composition executed with perfection, by all the musicians. It's layered with very rich texture of music, like all Coke Studio, compositions. I thoroughly enjoyed the sections by the bassist. Amir Azhar during the first phase, along with flutist, renders a lovely controlled solo. And in the second phase, he goes all out with generously slapping his bass. He, Rachel and the drummer put up a really funky groove in the middle. Kudos!
    Listen to it with a good pair of headphones or speakers.
    And...
    ...rest assured, you'll be delighted.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Vishal, Great review! Enjoyed reading your take! :) Do you have a blog as well? Will be happy to read other posts. Let me know.

    Regards,
    Prabhu

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Prabhu,

    Glad to know that you enjoyed reading my take on the song.

    I have not been maintaining a regular blog as i interests in my divergent areas of art and life, in general.

    I use Facebook to express my creative urges. Writing my observations on movies, music and rarely politics. Of late, I have been uploading photographs taken in my travels.

    You can check it out:

    https://m.facebook.com/vishal.dhingra.186?ref=m_notif&notif_t=like

    Will like to remain in touch.

    Warm Regards,

    Vishal.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete