Music Review Coke Studio S9 Episode 4: The Season is now blooming in full glory and I'm lovin' it..

Can't believe it's episode 4 already! But I can finally sense the season coming to full bloom with all its glory! Somehow the healthy competition between the music directors is working wonderfully for this season! Bringing in good diversity of genres, instruments and musicians, the composers are giving it all to stand out this season. And the competition is not just among the peers, but also the umpteen good quality composers who didn't make the cut this time and are waiting for their 'call' next season! So it's great to see market-forces at work here ultimately benefiting the primary stakeholder - 'the audience'! :)

This episode has Punjabi written all over it! All the four tracks have a strong Punjabi influence in terms of lyrics and arrangement and yet each is one is unique in it's own way.

Uddi Ja

Music Directed by Jaffer Zaidi, Vocals: Mohsin Abbas Hyder

Link to lyrics here

And if you thought Coke Studio Season 9 only gave you Momina, then you are mistaken! Mohsin Abbas Hyder, a yet another coke studio debutant, has gone onto hit a first-ball-sixer as well with Uddi Ja - a song that he wrote, sang and also composed initially! Again like Ali Sethi he too seems to be a recently turned singer (read his wiki) and has dabbled with many hats in his career - RJ, DJ, lyricist, actor! For someone who learnt singing recently, hitting notes of this beautiful melody on raag yaman so beautifully with so much soul and command is a brilliant effort. His technical mastery also comes with an interesting softness just at the right instances of the melody which is very pleasing to the ears!

Coming to the composition, Jaffer Zaidi is on a roll! First Jaane Na Tu, then Man Kunto Maula and now this! Jaffer has spanned different genres with perfection and great creativity! The song starts as a soft Punjabi number primarily on a guitar background, he then progressively introduces light strings and then bass and before you know it, in comes dholak, harmonium and the qawwals and hijack what was a soft number to a qawwali arrangement! And this alternating arrangement continues till the climax with a beautiful cameo in between by Sajaad Ali with his flute. The second half of the song sees the hamnawabs singing the chorus while Mohsin improvises over them hitting some beautiful off notes! The chorus is in raag yaman while the main melody has elements of khamaaj with use of 'komal ni'. While melodically different they fuse beautifully to give a good overall feel ably aided by the arrangement. The song ends with the flute and Mohsin ending again with a unique softness amidst fading instruments!

There are places where you just go wow listening to Mohsin's singing! Mohsin exhibits great control with his voice. The moment he starts (0.20), you feel a pleasing softness in his tone that makes the divine connection. While being soft, he also has a great throw in portions where the pitch is high  and notes are crisp and immaculate (like at 0.34 and also at the ending portion where he actually contrasts with the main melody with off notes! Mind you that's not easy!).

Overall a track that will welcome the weekend for you on a divine note and perhaps you'll be hooked on to this one for quite some time!

Paar Chanaa De

Music directed by Noori, Vocals : Shilpa Rao & Noori

Link to lyrics here

I had been looking forward to Shilpa Rao's performance the moment I got to know that she would be India's first export to this amazing platform! And finally the wait is over and the end product has come out so beautifully! Noori have been very consistent and creative with their tracks this season and it's no different with this composition. This one is apparently a family treasure passed on from their forefathers and Noori chose just the right platform to showcase this in a beautiful way.

The track has 'mitti-di-khushboo' written all over it with the rustic music & Punjabi lyrics. It is actually based on a tragic love story of Sohni Mahiwal (read the wiki). The Ali Hamza naturally has a beautiful vocal texture and has a great expertise with the lower octaves which he displays here yet again and it goes very well with the earthy mood and arrangement. It sets the stage beautifully for Shilpa to follow. Shilpa turned out to be the ideal choice for this composition. Her voice is very soulful and soothing. While being extremely sound technically, she doesn't sound loud or extravagant, which this composition demanded and she seemed to have gelled with the music amazingly! The antara where she goes solo is brilliantly sung. She begins with the alaap on the lower scale hitting all notes perfectly. And suddenly with literally no pause, she shifts onto the next octave with ease and command. Overall a very crisp and flawless performance from her, marking her entry into Coke Studio in bold letters. She also seemed to enjoy the performance getting along with Noori and the band, given that this was her first appearance on this platform. And finally with Ali Noor singing, it feels like Noori of the olden days! And thanks to them for that! Ali Noor has a great ability to sound rockish with his sky high notes and yet vary his notes like any classical vocalist. Loved the part (at 9.00) when the music goes mute with just the acoustic guitar and Ali Noor's vocals. In the end, the Rao-Noor duo do an interesting jugal-bandi of sorts with Noor continuing his rock part, while Shilpa enters displaying her classical prowess singing some beautiful harkats.

The arrangement of this track has everything one can ask for! It begins with a proper folk arrangement with instruments like the banjo, dholak and the matka (pot). The intial melody on the banjo goes with the mood of the song very well as one feels teleported to a typical rural household. Hamza's vocals takes this feel forward. Then comes the beautiful introduction of 'Sagar Veena' by Noor Zehra (mother of Ali Hamza and Ali Noor) and one can't help but just close eyes and appreciate the masterly artwork which adds a beautiful dimension to this already rich arrangement. Ali Noor also gets a guitar solo which is executed very well and precedes Shilpa's verse. Strings section kick in with Shilpa's vocals playing a parallel melody which complements her vocals. The Strings become quite prominent from here till the end giving an awesome structure to the composition especially when the track enters its crescendo. The melody is primarily on the C-major scale, but at places especially in the chorus does slip over to the sharper 'Ma' note giving it a beautiful twist!

Overall a track that deserves multiple hearings for one shot at this won't be enough to understand all the layers and nuances!

Aaya Laariye

Music directed by Shuja Haider, Vocals by Naeem Abbas Rufi & Meesha Shafi

Link to lyrics here

If you like high energy Punjabi wedding songs you would love this number! From the soulful rendition of Aaqa, Shuja Haider experiments with a diametrically opposite genre here! He has been very creative in retaining the original feel, but at the same adding some electronic sounds and make it feel modern. The choice of vocalists too is brilliant with both Naeem Abbas Rufi & Meesha Shafi doing justice with their powerful vocals which the song demanded.

The arrangement is as grand and lively as a typical big-fat Punjabi wedding! The various instruments come together beautifully to give the overall feel. Shuja also uses synth to create the pseudo-brass section that fills the air giving the band-wala feel along with the dhol of-course. The drum-work and bass-line is perfectly done. Loved the brief section at 3.35 when instruments go silent for a while with guitars, dholak and harmonium progressively coming in before the arrangement gets back to the original grandeur. The backing vocalists too do a great job not just joining the main vocalists but also reflecting that festive mood of a wedding!

A great composition and I am sure you would demand this one to be played in the next wedding you attend! :)

Ala Baali

Music directed by Shiraz Uppal, Vocalists: Nirmal Roy & Jabbar Abbas

Link to lyrics here

Listening to Ala Baali is like taking a multi-cultural-flight (if that ever existed!) from Dubai to Punjab as you experience a cocktail of cultures in a single experience on the way - Arabic, Urdu and Punjabi! And like always Coke Studio gets that delicate balance just right while coming up with these fusion numbers. Shiraz Uppal brings in a range of instruments to create this multi-cultural musical! Structurally song is based heavily on the bass-line and the percussions (the one played right at the beginning. Remember Rahman's Zariya in CS India?). Strings section again is creatively used all throughout the song and the way they play it brings forth the arabic feel (Especially the interlude at 1.35). Banjo and flute are also smartly used at interludes. Also the effect of working closely with Rahman kinda shows off on Shiraz Uppal as he uses the Rahman's favourite instrument - fingerboard in one of the interludes (at 3.00).

Both vocalists do a great job holding the song together while hopping between the multi-lingual lyrics. Nirmal Roy (the female vocalist) comes with a beautiful voice that gives you a contemporary, play-back ready feel. She starts with the energetic arabic part and later goes onto the soulful Punjabi portions on the lower notes. Overall she holds onto notes quite well and am sure we'll see more of this 20-year old in days to come! Coming to the male vocalist - Jabbar Abbas, I bet that if you listen to this track without watching the video, you too would mistake him for Sukhwinder Singh! There's an incredible similarity in the voice quality and singing styles! Jabbar Abbas brings the Punjabi elements beautifully with his open voice. The backing vocalists again do a great job supporting the main vocalists.

Overall an infectious composition that would keep your feet tapping and head banging for some time! Enjoy! :)

So full marks to this episode, each song very different and gracing perfection in its own way! It's wonderful to be welcomed with such a musical delicacy on a Friday ensuring that your weekend is sorted! Do read, listen share and comment! Look forward to your thoughts and points.

- Prabhu

musicdilseblog@gmail.com

Coke Studio Season 8 Review - Part 3, The one where Mulaazim shines with some Rajasthani folk

So here's part three of my review of top picks from Coke Studio Season 8! And given that the last season was the best among the lot, in my opinion, I am not sure how many more of these to come before I am done with Season 8! But definitely enjoying writing about the songs I love and I hope readers of this blog have something new to discover, relish and share! There's definitely a difficulty in putting a multi-dimensional experience into a few words, I am giving it my best shot nevertheless. :-)

By the way, the quick update is that Coke Studio Season 9 is all set to begin and the first song is already out! Check it out here and the line-up definitely looks promising! That also puts immense pressure on me to wrap this series up quickly, as hopefully I'll have fresh stuff to write about!

This blog is mainly on Mulazim Hussain - a Rawalpindi based singer. Now he too, like Nabeel, was a Sur-Kshetra finalist. The most unique thing about Mulazim is his voice. Listen to him for once and you'll agree that there is a sense of 'mitti-di-khushboo' in his rustic, soulful voice. A husky voice that naturally goes with sufi and folk genre and Strings were bang-on with their song selections for him.

Rabba Ho

Link to the lyrics here.

Rabbo Ho is a Rajasthani folk song penned by Saeed Ali Khan and composed by Mulazim's uncle - Ustaad Aslam Parvaiz. Mulazim's Rajasthani lineage is apparent in the way he sings this song with command and elegance. The song begins with a beautiful piano piece that sets the background melody which is heard in the composition throughout. Mulazim starts with some Urdu lines with minimal music - just a repetitive bass line and light guitars. Dholak is again beautifully used and goes with the vocal melody always giving the folk element. Other traditional instruments are typically used in the interludes - Sitar, Tumba & the violins. Also quite interestingly tabla is only used during the instrumental interludes but for the last antara.

Apart from the masterly vocal rendition, the composition also has a grand arrangement, fusing both modern and traditional elements beautifully. With many distinct elements in the overall composition - like the tumba lead, sitar lead, brief flute pieces and pronounced strings section, the composers also have experimented with melodies from different raags going with the main vocal melody. I saw a great influence of Khamaaj in the main melody.  Also saw use of the unusual 'komal dha' at a couple of ending notes leaving the air with a sense of curiosity and thirst, which is later quenched by the melodious instrumental lead sections that followed! The instrumental interludes are typically in Bilawal thaat (Tumba section - the strange looking mandolin type instrument played by Tanveer bhai, is on Asa Raag as mentioned in BTS).

So all-in-all a collection of superlative performances making up this masterpiece with Mulazim standing out with his honest, soulful voice.

Ve Baneya

Link to the lyrics here.

Ve Baneya is yet another fusion of two folk tracks - one going by the title itself, a song sung typically in marriages and the other - Meri Hamjoliyan which was originally sung by the legendary Reshamji and narrates the tale of a female lover who is being teased by her friends. Unlike Umran Langiyaan, here the two songs are interspersed in the whole composition and Fizza and Mulazim take turns to sing their parts. The fusion is beautifully done and sometimes you can't even make out that they are actually two different songs. Fizza and Mulazim complement each other very well. Fizza has a beautiful throw in her voice displaying command at places while being technically sound with her harkats. On the other hand Mulazim brings out the romantic element so beautifully! He is soft and reflects the emotions of a lady so well, that even shows in his smile throughout. There are so many places I just loved the 'adakari' of Mulazim. (like the subtle extension of 'naam lekar teraa...' at 3.13, similar harkat at at beginning of antara 'Sawan aaye to' at 5.07) 

Like in the previous composition, it's Babar bhai's Dholak again that captures the folk element accompanying the main vocal melody throughout. The arrangement is not as grand as 'Rabba Ho', however the usage of eastern instruments is managed beautifully - like the flute and strings interlude in between Fizza's and Mulazim's part in the beginning. The second interlude has flute and harmonium and the melody resembles 'Vaishnav Janto' closely! Both the compositions have its origin in Khamaaj thaat, while Fizza's part - Ve Baneya is clearly in Raag Des and the 'komal Ni' is conspicuous at places.

Hopefully these two tracks and Mulazim's soulful voice will keep you hooked for a week as you drown in the depth of his voice surrounded by the symphony of beautiful instruments used in these compositions! So until next time cya! :)

- Prabhu :-)
musicdilseblog@gmail.com

Coke Studio Season 8 Review - Part 2 (Umran Langiyaan & Ae Dil)

At the outset, thanks to all readers for the great response to my previous blog. It was a dream come true for Nabeel bhai himself to share it on his official fan page! Served as a shot in the arm for me to write more and often!

Umran Langiyaan

So as promised, I am continuing to discuss a few more of my top picks from CS - Season 8. Let me begin with the other song featuring Nabeel - Umran Langiyaan. Now this one is a beautiful fusion of two very old Punjabi folk songs. One goes by the name of the title itself - Umran Langiyaan. Written in the 1970s by Mazhar Tirmazi and rendered by Asad Amanat Ali (brother of Shafqat Amanat Ali) with poise and command (definitely recommend you to listen to this version). The second one too is an old Punjabi folk rendered by Allah Ditta Lonaywala (link here). While Nabeel has been brilliant with the rendition of the second folk song, it's Ali Sethi who owns this performance from the beginning. Talking of Ali, he is indeed a personal inspiration for me for having done so much in so little time. For starters, he is a Harvard graduate and professionally a writer and columnist. While interested in music since childhood, Ali grew up listening to greats like Nusrat sahib and Abida Parveen.  However the unbelievable fact is that he forayed into classical music only in 2008 when he begun his training under Ustad Naseeruddin Saami! And within such a short span, performing compositions completely on a classical base with such eloquence, is no joke by any means! And hence I say he is a real inspiration for rookie singers like me! (You are invited to read more about him here and watch one of his interview to Tehelka here)

Coming to the composition, the beautiful thing that I noticed is that the folk element is always felt in the entire composition. And seems like Ali had a great role to play in that for insisting on using harmonium and dholak for most of the song! (Watch the behind-the-scenes to know more!). The first song is about separation and yearning of the lover. And Ali's voice perfectly reflects that pain and longing. Without sounding sad, he beautifully brings out the concern yet optimism that the lyrics is wanting to convey. While the intro line and the alap sets the mood of the song, the mukhda at 1.24 brings the harmonium and the dholak into the fore setting the foundation of the song. Modern music elements are heard more in the first antara with bass and drums being more conspicuous owing to the absence of the dholak. The use of Rubab instrument at places specially the interludes by Tanveer bhai is intelligently done. And Ali's virtuosity is apparent all through the song as he hits all the notes perfectly and the subtle harkats are crisply and eloquently executed.

The interlude between the two folk songs is for me the best part of the rendition musically! While the root raag in my opinion is the same (Bilawal That, C major scale), the mood however shifts from separation/concern of the lover to happiness/hope metaphorically represented by the tinkling of bangles of the lady lover in the lyrics. And the heavenly flute piece by Sajid Ali does the transition perfectly exceeding everyone's imaginations. And in comes Nabeel with his soulfulness equally matched by Sajid's flute as he begins the second folk song. Nabeel's voice is much softer and melodious reflecting the happy mood. Post the brief piece, the two stalwarts get together for the final showdown as they literally fuse the two mukhdas at the end in a way that would keep you yearning for more.

I would definitely recommend multiple hearings of this slow-poison for it to hit you and keep you addicted for atleast a few weeks!

Ae Dil

My number 3 pick of this season is Ae Dil and boy what a performance this is from the duo - Ali Zafar and Sara Haider! Now like the other songs, this too is a recreation of an old classic sung by Saleem Raza. This song while can still be argued as a pop number, has many elements of jazz/blues throughout such as the use of melodica, minor chord usage at many places, the vocal style and generous use of vibrato (the on-purpose wavering of vocals by Ali). The arrangement also boasts of a brilliant lead guitar interlude in between by Omran 'Momo' Shafique (Have been following this guitarist since the early seasons and he is too good!).

The song begins with a brief english section which kinda sets the contemporary feel before the main mukhda begins. The melodica throughout the song is a welcome addition and goes with the romantic mood beautifully! The song's foundation is the rhythm set by the chords played on the piano and acoustic guitar. The drum work is just brilliant and really helps in changing the momentum in the interludes and places where there is a transition from one vocalist to the other. My 'aha' moment is the lead guitar section from Momo after Ali Zafar asks him to 'take-it-away'. And he literally does so with his magical fingers and joyful expressions, taking the song to it's zenith and handing over the baton back to the vocalists.

The vocals is a beautiful banter between the boy and girl which Ali and Sara bring out perfectly with their on-screen chemistry. Sara has been the real revelation of this composition. Who knew that the quiet backstage vocalist could deliver such a power packed performance! Sara comes with a sort of 'sophisticated' accent which goes with the contemporary, jazzy feel and she has a beautiful throw in her voice which gives a sense of command at portions where the girl responds to the boy (like at 2.56 when she sings 'Tune kiya tha pyaar kyun'). Also for lack of a better english word, the 'ada' with which she sings - like how she extends 'Ae dil kisi ki yaad main... at 3.06, adds the icing on the cake! Coming to Ali, I believe this is one of his finest performances till date! Perhaps he has exhibited all skills that a contemporary vocalist has in his book, in a single song. His husky voice texture was perfect for this genre and his vocal range was unimaginably sky-rocketing! The stand-out features for me were the vibratos and falsettos! He used the vibrato so beautifully in the English section. And I haven't seen anyone controlling falsettos at that high pitch so perfectly.

The best part of the rendition was the chemistry between the two! Perhaps the probable reason why this song has more than 2.5 million views while Bewajah is still trying to chase the 2 million mark. The expressions, smiles, hand gestures and overall exuberance added to the joyful experience of the performance and also reflected in the vocal feel. Do listen to this and listen again and again, I am sure this will keep you hooked for a while!

Had intended to discuss three songs in this blog, but I thought this level of detailing is required to do justice to these amazing compositions! So in interest of the length, let me leave you hopefully submerged in the awesomeness of these two compositions. Hope I did strike the right chord with you atleast with one of them. Look forward to your thoughts, suggestions and comments! So until my next post, keep listening and sharing. :)

- Prabhu

musicdilseblog@gmail.com

Coke Studio Season 8 Review - When Strings got the blend just right & Nabeel Shaukat Ali stood out with Bewajah!

It's been just two blog-posts since the supposed 'reincarnation' and lethargy has already begun to set in! While I still need to figure out how to get that discipline into my system, just had enough time this Sunday to write my next post which was lurking in my head for over a year!

The perennial hunger for good music does bring out the uncharacteristic stalker in me as I spend loads of time browsing various online channels to search for my 'aha' moment. The one forum that I keenly look forward to and has not disappointed me so far is the coke studio series from across the border. Being the biggest platform to showcase their music, unlike in India where Bollywood is still the king, I have discovered some amazing tracks come out from there! My hypothesis for this is that there is much more independence for musicians to be creative and imaginative while they experiment with their arrangements and not being influenced by producers, directors, script or demands to force fit an item number!

While each year has produced some remarkable tracks, I was really impressed with the last season (8th), with each episode having something to boast about! Given that the 8th season came out almost a year back, this blog, as you might have guessed was long due! And alarm bells started ringing when I recently read about the line-up of Season-9 (which btw looks equally exciting and esp. the experimentation with multiple producers within the same season!) and I thought this is perhaps the last logical opportunity to write about a bunch of amazing compositions perhaps unknown to many and hopefully this blogpost and the couple to follow will help reduce this information asymmetry!

I would like to begin with my find of 8th season – Nabeel Shaukat Ali. Bewajah for me is the song of this season and it's only fair that I dedicate this blogpost only for this beautiful composition!

Co-incidentally Nabeel was the winner of an Indian reality show Sur-Kshetra, which I generally avoided for all the melodrama and cold war between the judges. Incredibly talented is the least I could say to describe him. Nabeel is super soulful on one hand and technically immaculate on the other and that indeed is a killer combination very few possess! I only hope he goes on to give us more of these gems.

Coming to this composition, while the melody and the arrangement of the coke studio version was more like love-at-first-sight for me, what hit me a little later was the simple, yet deep lyrics! One can relate to these lines quite easily and the soothing melody that accompanies it takes you out of the world for a while. The lyrics are written by a contemporary poet Babar Shakeel Hashmi.

The whole composition is a combination of many distinct, independently creative layers woven together by Nabeel’s soulful melody perfectly. Begins with a typical pop arrangement – acoustic guitar, standard drums and with a pronounced bass-line which at places stands out with its own parallel melody. And then magic begins to unfold with Nabeel’s melody first and then the strings section filling the air beautifully as the chorus attains a crescendo. The first stanza brings in the traditional instruments. The flute and tabla are very distinct and goes well with the softness of the melody at 1.53. The strings then kick in again at 2.15 as the pitch picks up. Watch out for the flute interludes in between one of the stanzas. Use of Flute by Sajid Ali and Strings section led by Javed Iqbal has been a common theme across compositions in this edition. And it has been wonderfully arranged by Strings, not overdoing it, just the right amount to bring in the blend of classical and folk music beautifully.

My top stanza of this composition was:

Unse milne ki wajah koi nahin

Dhoondhta kyun hai wajah bewajah

So enjoy this classic and do share your observations and thoughts! I am sure you’ll have this on loop for a couple of weeks if this is the first time you are hearing this. In the interest of this post’s length will discuss my other top picks in the upcoming post. So until then stay tuned, keep listening and sharing.

- Prabhu :-)
musicdilseblog@gmail.com