With every new episode of Coke Studio season 7 the charm of its melodies simply intensify through the much celebrated voices and artists of our nation. To further maintain a tuneful charm over its audiences, Coke Studio released its episode 4 on Sunday, October 12.
The episode which was broadcasted nationwide, featured songs by artists such as Zoheb Hassan, Humera Channa, Javed Bashir, Asrar and Usman Riaz. The compositions in the episode manifest yet another step in the quintessential journey of Pakistani music by featuring musical compositions varying in genre and concept from song to song.
Amongst the featured songs in the episode, Humera Channa and Javed Bashir’s “Ambwa Taley”, is a composition which takes us on an exploratory journey through folklore and traditions by describing the wedding of a girl and the conflicting emotions of sadness and joy that parents go through when their daughter is getting married. The wordings, written by Hazrat Amir Khusro, amalgamate with the South Asian voices of Javed Bashir and Humera Channa to bring forth a picturesque of nostalgic feelings.
After selecting the song, the duo decided to call up Javed Bashir for the latter to recommend a singer who would be able to carry this composition. “We wanted a certain type of voice, preferably a woman,” said Bilal, “When we told Javed what song it was, he insisted on singing it himself. He sent us a recording in which he had improvised the song.”
The touch of xylophone played by Arsalan Rabbani in the background along with touching effect of clarinet adds to the landscape created in one’s mind through the song.
The next song which immediately suited to the liking of the listeners was Zoheb Hassan’s “Dheray Dheray” which takes us back to the era when pop music had rooted its resonance in the 80’s and 90’s. Similar to the pervious track by Zoheb Hassan, “Chehra”, “Dheray Dheray “ also brings forth the fusion of contemporary music style and the old pop music. The song emancipating a lover’s plea to his heart asking not to fall in love, is beautifully complemented through slight tough of blues music along with clarinet, keyboard and backing vocals.
Where “Ambwa Taley” makes us feel the essence of folklore, “Dheray Dheray” embarks a funky touch in the episode. In a similar war, Usman Riaz’s “Bone Shaker” adds further variety to the episode through his debute performance. Usman uses the elements of an acoustic guitar in such a way that he adds innovation to the way a guitar is usually played. The composition which is an instrumental is literally a body shaker as it portrays with immense the precision the purity of the instrument.
“We wanted to retain the purity of his instrument,” said Bilal, “We didn’t want to drown him in song. Just at the end we decided to introduce the tabla the flute.” To be specific the other instruments are introduced as the composition by Usman moves from being structured on Raag Aymen to the Charukesi Raga. A soft soothing number that displays the skill of Usman in both playing and composing a musical piece, it was an apt end to a musically rich episode.
From the pop culture to the modern and contemporary, Coke Studio episode presented various diverse elements and compositions which when assorted in an aura of melodious voices and instrumentals, left the audience wanting more!