Music Review: Coke Studio Season 9 Episode 1 & 2 (Bold Beginnings with Multiple Producers!)

The much awaited season 9 boasting of an excellent artist line-up began last week. This season is also unique in the sense that this time Strings (the overall producers of the season) have invited other music collaborators to co-create productions which is unprecedented for the Coke Studio platform! So clearly there has been a gradual transition from the one-man-show days of Rohail Hyatt (until Season 6) to Strings coming over with a rather collaborative approach. This was subtly apparent in the previous seasons in the way Strings engaged with musicians (do check out behind the scenes videos of past seasons) while they jammed. However in this season this has gone a step further in terms of independent musicians producing tracks while Strings have taken a backseat acting as overall mentors. Well logically this makes sense I would say. Creative art forms need to have room for experimentation and new perspectives should always be welcome, otherwise saturation and monotony begins to creep in. On the flip-side too many ideas while ensuring freshness might also be a recipe for cacophony and that's where I hope Strings as overall mentors must ensure consistency and quality. With just two episodes gone by I don't want to pass a judgement just yet on this experiment. However I do hope that the too many cooks in this season do prove the old adage wrong!

Coming to specific compositions, it has been a mixed bag of sorts for me so far - some have clicked right away, while some taking time to sink in!

Talking of first episode what struck me right away was:

Jaane Na Tu

Composed by Jaffer Zaidi, Sung by Ali Khan

Link to Lyrics here

Perhaps this is not a number you would typically attribute with Coke Studio - there is no fusion, not much experimentation with arrangement. It sounds like your typical late 90s/early 2000s English pop number (Actually reminded of Westlife a lot!). Notwithstanding this fact, this breezy number will sure enthrall you if you have liking for this genre. First up Ali Khan is brilliant! Can't believe that he is back after a decade long sabbatical and boy what a comeback (Checkout his single - Saathiya)! This is a genre where you just need to hit straight notes and sustain it and he does it beautifully with a vocal range slightly shriller than average, which goes with the breezy feel and the overall arrangement. What is mention-worthy is also the feeling he brings in. Somehow the bad times he went through that he speaks about (watch the BTS) is reflecting in his voice and one can feel the pain of separation.

I had been keenly waiting for a Jaffer Zaidi production after Strings announced the new format this year. Jaffer is the same guy who used to be on the keys for most Coke Studio songs right from the beginning and who boasted of long hair which alas is history now! He also had given many compositions to this platform earlier as part of Kaavish (remember Neun La Leya?). Jaffer does a brilliant job in putting together the arrangement and does it very creatively while maintaining the simplicity. The first thing you notice is the brilliant use of Strings section and backing vocals all throughout to give the breezy feel, which complements Ali's vocals beautifully. The chord structure is laid out both by the keys and acoustic guitar. The bass-line is quite creative and Mannu bhai does his own improvisations at places. The arrangement also boasts of a brilliantly done lead guitar piece at 2:20. My moment of the composition is at 4:20 when the scale changes from A# major to C major and how smartly they devised it by bringing the melody to a note (G) common to both scales and continued from there with C major scale after a pause!

Overall a beautiful pop number and as long as the expectations are of just that I am sure this won't disappoint you! Enjoy!

Aaja Re Moray Saiyaan

Composed by Noori, Sung by Zeb Bangash

Link to lyrics here.

Seeing Noori on the list of producers had definitely got me excited as I really loved their past compositions on Coke Studio (remember Saari Raat and Jo Meray?). So I was hoping for compositions with some awesome Sitar solos and an animated Ali Noor (the bearded left-handed guitarist stud!) singing in insanely high pitch. And that was alas not to be! So that definitely was a let-down from an expectations point of view, perhaps the reason why I didn't 'love' this one in the first hearing! However a couple of iterations and this started to sink in wonderfully! So notwithstanding the fact that song hardly had elements I used to associate with a Noori composition, the melody of this composition is gripping and beautifully done!

Aaja Re Moray Saiyaan is a beautiful ballad describing the season of spring where love blossoms around as evident in the flowers of various colors, as the lover calls out to his partner to be one with him! The happy mood reflects in all elements of the composition. The choice of instruments give a folk/country feel all throughout. The use of mandolin in the beginning, harmonium in the interlude sections, the mouth percussion and dholak all throughout adds to the rustic feel. The backing vocalists too have done a great job supporting Zeb with their lively, spirited harmony.

Zeb Bangash delivers a pleasant performance that this song demanded. Not overly excited but just enough to give that subtle romantic feel. Ali Hamza chips in with his unique low pitched voice supported by the choral section. The melody does come with a twist in between with interesting raag shifts. Use of komal ni and teevra ma at places is beautiful. Esp. the megha barse part does sound Yaman-ish with use of teevra ma. But these distinct melody elements are seamlessly fused thanks to the beautiful arrangement!

Overall a wonderful happy song to make your day. Do give it a try more than one time and I am sure you'll explore all the beautiful things being described in the song and much more! :)

Aaqa

Composed by Shuja Haider, Sung by Abida Parveen & Ali Sethi

Link to lyrics here.

Aaqa is a soulful Sufi composition at its best! With Abida Parveen's vocals the divine feeling is a given, however the surprise package yet again (remember Umran Langiyaan?) for me was Ali Sethi! This Harvard grad, columnist, writer, poet and what not doesn't cease to surprise me! With a stellar debut in Umran Langiyaan, Ali chose to catapult himself to the next level with Aaqa alongside Abidaji. 

This composition is all about the vocalists and they own it beautifully with their magnificence! Abidaji is brilliant with her adaygi as usual. There is a beautiful laziness in her singing and yet she is always on beat (taal)! The way she delays and extends ending notes slipping in that extra harkat (like the 'sab' in 'yeh sab tumhara karam' at 2.20) is amazing. There is a definite command in her tone which again is an Abida trademark, yet at the same time it also reflects an unassuming voice longing for Almighty's blessings! Ali stepped upto this opportunity beautifully in delivering another crisp masterpiece. Singing out of his comfort scale and adapting to Abidaji's scale, Ali did a great job singing those high pitched introductory verses. Ali too brings in his own effortless improvisations at places matching that of Abidaji's.

Coming to the musical arrangement, Shuja Haider (the producer of this composition) did the right thing by keeping it at bay mostly, giving room for the vocalists to do their magic. He did bring in a few distinct elements to the fore occasionally. Use of Rubab is beautiful. Rubab along with harmonium brings in the devotional feeling. The Humnawas (Qawwals) also do a great job supplementing the main melody.

Overall a beautifully composed prayer which warrants multiple hearings! Just listen to this closing your eyes and you will sense the divine connection happening! :)

Man Kunto Maula

Composed by Jaffer Zaidi, Sung by Javed Bashir & Ali Azmat

Link to lyrics here.

Man Kunto Maula is a beautiful kalaam written by Hazrat Ameer Khusro and one would find umpteen renditions of this online! But this Rock-Qawwali version perhaps is one of its kind! Kudos to Jaffer Zaidi's imagination here for visualizing and writing this fusion arrangement. Choice of Javed Bashir was apt. But the choice that was interesting and worked wonderful for me was Ali Azmat. While Javed Bashir delivered an expected masterclass performance, Ali Azmat's rock prologue helped exaggerate Javed's performance! The point where Ali stops and Javed starts with 'Man Kunto Maula' gives you that 'aha' feeling. The instrumentation too is designed to go with this with a build up of rock music during Ali's part which transitions to dholak and harmonium to go with Javed's qawwali.

I also loved the ending when both Javed and Ali sing the tarana together as the music builds up in both amplitude and tempo. The taan that Javed takes is perfectly done and the intensity actually reminded me of carnatic vocalists! Overall a great experiment from Jaffer and for me it worked very well. Again there would be the purist lot who would loathe this, but then recreating the exact same arrangement with no 'apni cheez' is no fun right! :) As they say in Bengaluru - 'Enjoy maadi'!

Let me list the other compositions from the first 2 episodes which perhaps I liked to some extent but maybe not loved it! (Unfortunately life too works on relative grading! :-( )

Sasu Mangay by Naseebo Lal & Umair Jaswal: A Rajasthani folk number sung beautifully by Naseebo Lal fused with a Rock-Punjabi part performed by Umair Jaswal. It's quite a gripping number as the two parts come together for a grand crescendo.

Bholay Bhalay by Meesha Shafi: A techno song driven by bass and electric guitars. The starting riff brings the rocky feel which is coupled with solos from Sitar. Meesha brings a naughtiness in her vocals which goes with the lyrics. Again not for everyone but quite creative arrangement I must add!

Baliye (Laung Gawacha) by QB & Haroon Shahid: This one is a Punjabi fusion of an original part written by Haroon and the quintessential shaadi song - Laung Gawacha sung by QB. The arrangement is quite catchy for Haroon's part owing to the high tempo. Harmonium and strings section fills the air beautifully. QB's part starts much quieter and gives prominence to the vocals. Overall it's a breezy arrangement on strings and some choral section with dholak providing the structure. Both portions come together in the end nicely. If you are a QB fan you won't be disappointed! :)

And that's all from Episode 1 & 2! Is it? You must be wondering how come I forgot the most important track - Afreen! Well I liked it so much that I really want to write a full blog-post on that. So yes stay tuned for that as well as Episode 3. I am sure you have enough ammunition to sustain yourself until then.

Take care. Keep Listening. Keep Sharing! :)

- Prabhu

musicdilseblog@gmail.com

Coke Studio Season 8 Review - Part 4 | Hare Hare Baans feat. Shazia Manzoor | Khalis Makhan feat. Bakshi Bros | Sammi Meri Waar feat. Umair Jaswal & QB

And here's a last ditch effort to slip in a few more of the remaining gems from Coke Studio Season 8 before Season 9 begins today! Feels like I am playing a 20-20 match here trying to slog it out in the last over!  Before we continue with the last over proceedings, here is a quick look at the highlights of the match so far! So It was Nabeel Shaukat Ali (Blog 1) who opened with a first-ball-six with Bewajah! Then Ali Sethi (Blog 2) joined him for a steady partnership culminating in a classical climax with Umran Langiyaan. It was then the other Ali (Zafar) who romanced with Sara Haider in Ae Dil to add some naughtiness to the innings. It then took a grounded Mulazim Hussain (Blog 3) to steady the ship with a couple of soulful performances. As the match enters its final lap, there are quite a few gems left to uncover which I'll try to bring forth today.

Hare Hare Baans

Vocalists: Shazia Manzoor, Rizwan & Muazzam

To view the lyrics click here

First up is Hare Hare Baans. This one is a Hazrat Amir Khusro written kalam (poetry)! Some quick googling revealed that this is quite a rare poetry and one would see a lot of online debate on what's the exact lyrics and origin of the song. But there is a general consensus on this having an Awadhi (Lucknowi) influence. The literal translation of the lyrics depicts the marriage of one's daughter and all the festivities around it. It narrates the plight of a father who is bidding farewell to his daughter with a heavy heart and this is reflected in the mixed emotions the composition evokes in the listener. Metaphorically this is to be understood as one's soul departing one's body towards the almighty.

Coming to the composition, Strings have conceptualised it beautifully to bring forth the pain of departure with Shazia Manzoor's singing while keeping the liveliness of the composition by concocting a beautiful Qawwali piece of the same song by smart use of instruments and powerful voice of Rizwan & Muazzam duo. The song is primarily on raag Khamaaj and at places you would find similarity with many familiar songs on the same raag. Especially at 5.25 there is an uncanny resemblance to 'Piya tose naina laage re' from Guide. The arrangement is beautifully done by Strings! I urge you to watch the behind-the-scenes video of this composition. The sheer sight of the team coming together on one of their jam sessions and experimenting, disagreeing and coming out with something brilliant is great to see. Definitely made me envious of the life these brilliant musicians lead! Especially loved the part at 0.33, when they discuss the chord structure and trying different patterns to reflect the sad mood of the song. The choice of instruments in this whole season has been fantastic and same holds true of this composition. Baans(uri) is beautifully used throughout the song. Also they used the low-frequency flute which goes with the mood of the song. The composition has two distinct arrangements - one for Shazia Manzoor's soulful part where the music is toned down to let Shazia's deep voice spray all the emotions so beautifully into the air, while the second part is the Qawwali by Rizwan & Muazzam and the music is a tad louder with use of harmonium and dholak (instead of tabla earlier!)

The soul of the song definitely is Shazia Manzoor, haven't seen many singers who can convey the essence of the song so beautifully just by varying one's voice! This is one of those songs which will keep reverberating in your head for a long long time primarily due to Shazia Manzoor. The subtle harkats are a treat to hear with Shazia hitting each note perfectly. Rizwan & Muazzam duo too have done full justice to their qawwali part complementing each other well. The sargam at 5.33 is masterfully done. Also loved the part (at 2.29) when one brother backs the other taking turns to render the alaap. Coming to Shazia's part, it would be really unfair on my part to single out any particular moment. Her performance in totality was a big 'wow' factor of this composition.

I hope this song dissolves you too in its fold like it had me! This is what I call a 'fast-poison', hits you quick, while the kick lurks inside you for a long time! Enjoy and do share your reaction after listening to this. :-)

Khalis Makhan

Vocalists: Bakshi Brothers

To view the lyrics click here

This one is yet another Punjabi folk song from Coke Studio Season 8. Unlike other performances Strings have experimented with a group (Bakshi Brothers) singing the main vocals as a chorus. And their Midas touch seems to have worked wonderfully for them yet again. The song is all about remembering the good ol' childhood days when one experienced many 'pure' things in life giving 'pure happiness' which is absent now. The choral singing does a good job in bringing the nostalgia effectively. 

The arrangement is beautiful. The best part of the whole composition is that no one element dominates the song at any point and it's indeed a team-effort - the vocalists (and don't miss the backing ones!), instrumentalists and the beautiful lyrics. The song begins with a beautiful riff on piano played by Jaffer Zaidi (of the Kaavish fame). Strings introduce matka as a percussion instrument here and it goes well with the nostalgic, rustic theme. The guitar chord-roll along with the bass-line forms the structure of the song. Sajid Ali's flute, Arsalan Ali's harmonium and Tanveer Tafu's Rubab are smartly used at interludes enriching the composition. Tabla forms the base of the percussion and Babar Ali Khanna is at his best again. Strings section adds another layer of beauty and comes much later in the song when the 'Peera-Ho' part starts at 3.34. Incidentally the raag also changes at this part and the violins convey that effectively!

The composition overall gives a happy, lively feel. While primarily on a major scale, off notes are beautifully used at places in the composition like 'komal ni' in the antara and interestingly 'komal ga' in the Peera-Ho part! So do listen to this and feel good remembering those past childhood days. :)

Sammi Meri Waar

Vocalists: Umair Jaswal & Quratulain Balouch (QB)

To view the lyrics click here

With the risk of lengthening this blog further, let me try to squeeze in another one of my favourites here! Sammi Meri Waar is a power packed performance and will keep you on your toes swinging to the beat. Strings constructed a brand new song out of a small folk piece - Sammi Meri Waar (which Quratulain Balouch - QB sings beautifully throughout). The star of the show however is Umair Jaswal! Boy what a powerhouse he is! For starters his voice is so unique and gifted. Has great control to render those vibratos and high scale pieces. He single handedly gave a rockish feel through his vocals to this otherwise pop arrangement! (check the controlled scream at 2.08)

The composition by the way is not as simple as it sounds! There is a continuous transition of scales (and hence raags) all throughout the song with Umair's part on major scale and QB's portion is on the minor scale of the same key. Hence the chords are completely different and bringing together this fusion so seamlessly speaks a lot about the creativity brought in by Strings here. Instrumentation is equally beautiful. This song like in most other compositions of the season starts with a piano riff from Jaffer Zaidi, but the most prominent part is the use of mandolin along with flute which gives a pleasant feel to the air when the song begins, as if one is teleported to a valley full of flowers and sunshine (personal imagination :-) )! This feeling continues with Umair's vocal which is accompanied by rhythm guitar in the background. The mood changes at 1.44 with the onset of strings and the minor scale kicks in beautifully! This sets the stage for QB to come in with the mukhda of the song. QB too, like Umair, has a very different voice. It's so different that it's difficult to stereotype! I believe she has created her own genre of vocals - powerful, thick in a sense yet agile. Drum work by Aahad Nayani is brilliantly done all throughout and helps Umair get the rockish feel. The other percussionist Babar bhai as usual rocked with the Dholak. A beautiful moment in the composition is when the lyrics goes 'dhol baaje' at 3.35 and all of a sudden there is a pause and only the dholak is heard giving it a contextual beauty! The acoustic guitar solo by Imran Akhoond too is brilliantly done at 3.06 which transitions QBs part to the happier sounding Umair's part. Also don't miss the brilliant flute solo by Sajid Ali towards the end at 4.56.

This one is perhaps the most powerful performance of the season and might leave you gasping at the end of it! The composition definitely deserves more than one listening for all the layers to hit you! 

There are a few more tracks from Season 8 which I would have loved to cover in this blog series. However, I don't see that happening in the near future with Season 9 starting today the hope that I get an opportunity to write about some awesome brand-new compositions with the new format this time! However, I definitely recommend you to listen to a few more of my favourites:

1) Man Aamadeh Am by Atif Aslam and a Pashto singer - Gul Pannra (she is brilliant!)

2) Rung Jindri by Arif Lohar - This man comes back after a powerful 'Jugni' performance! (watch-out for the awesome Strings section)

3) Neun La Leya by Kaavish (sung by the piano guy - Jaffer Zaidi, who has an incredibly deep voice!) - Enjoy this amazing track on raag Des

4) Tajdar-e-Haram by Atif Aslam - This one perhaps is the most popular track and one of Atif's better performances at Coke Studio

Would love to write about these ones as well sometime, time and mood permitting! Meanwhile do listen to these from Season 8 and enjoy Season 9! Will hopefully soon share my thoughts on the Season 9 tracks! Until then alvida!

- Prabhu :-)

musicdilseblog@gmail.com