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Coke Studio
Also known asCoke Studio
کوک اِسٹوڈیو
Created by
StarringFeatured Artists
Country of originPakistan
No. of seasons15
No. of episodes76 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerCoca-Cola Pakistan
Producers
Production locationsKarachi, Pakistan
Camera setupMulti-camera
Production companies
  • Frequency Media
  • Mainstage Productions
  • Front Foot Media
  • Giraffe Pakistan
Original release
NetworkWebcast
Release8 June 2008 (2008-06-08) –
present

Coke Studio (Urdu: کوک اِسٹوڈیو) is a Pakistani television programme and international music franchise which features studio-recorded music performances by established and emerging artists. It is the longest-running annual television music show in Pakistan, running annually since 2008.

Coke Studio combines myriad musical influences, from traditional classical, folk, Sufi, qawwali, ghazal and bhangra music to contemporary hip hop, rock and pop music.[1] The show is noted for promoting Pakistan's multiculturalism by inviting artists from various regions and of various languages to collaborate musically.[2][3]

History[edit]

Coke Studio originated in Brazil in 2007 as a music project that aimed to combine the distinct musical styles of two Brazilian artists. The concept was later adopted by Nadeem Zaman, the Marketing Head of The Coca-Cola Company, who partnered with Rohail Hyatt, a former member of the Pakistani band Vital Signs, to create a Pakistani version of the show in 2008. The inaugural season premiered with a live audience and was met with immense success. The show was produced by him, along with his wife Umber Hyatt and Nofil Naqvi a Pakistani cinematographer.[4]

From season 2 onwards, Coke Studio adopted a closed studio format, which remained till season 13; season 14 shifted to a music video format, where every individual song featured its own music video. Rohail Hyatt remained as executive producers for the show until season 6, stepping aside in 2013 after five years.[5] He was succeeded by Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia of the band Strings, who produced the show until the end of season 10.[6][7] Strings announced that season 10 would be their last production for Coke Studio.[8][9] In March 2018, Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi were announced as the producers for season 11 of Coke Studio,[10][11] but they stepped down after the season concluded.[12] Rohail Hyatt returned to produce season 12 of the show, which was released on 11 October 2019.[13] Hyatt continued to produce the show until the 13th season,[14] after which he recommended Xulfi to lead the production for the 14th season.[15][16]

On the tenth anniversary of the show in 2017, the General Manager of Coca-Cola Pakistan & Afghanistan, Rizwan U. Khan, stated, "We have come a long way since we embarked on this challenging journey a decade ago. Looking back, we feel greatly humbled that Coke Studio has been able to achieve so much, in terms of bringing virtually unknown or little known musicians into the national limelight, re-introducing music genres like qawwali and sufi music to the youth of Pakistan, continuing to stay true to the promise of producing quality fusion of music and practically playing an important role in reviving the music industry of Pakistan."[17]

Format[edit]

Mizraab performing live at Coke Studio, 2011

The show features artists in each episode, by a house band and guest artists. Coke Studio tracks are officially available on their YouTube channels and various streaming platforms.[a] The music is recorded live by artists at Coke Studio.[18] The televisual style emphasizes frequent close-ups on various performers, highlighting the collective contributions of the ensemble, while primarily focusing on the lead singer or singers.[19]

Musically, the format features an always changing and fascinating mix of Western instruments (primarily guitars, pianos, synthesizers, bass guitars, and drum kits) with traditional instruments from the Indian subcontinent (harmonium, rubab, sarod, sitar, bamboo flutes, dholak, tabla, and other traditional percussion instruments). With rare exceptions, the singer is the lead instrumentalist. Other instrumental solos, while often highly virtuosic, tend to be relatively brief.

Coke Studio airs on both television and digital platforms, maintaining a consistent episodic structure throughout its 13 seasons, with each episode presenting multiple songs. However, starting from season 14, Xulfi, the producer of that season, has altered the format by transitioning to releasing individual songs instead of featuring multiple songs within each episode

Coke Studio Explorer[edit]

The producers Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi introduced Coke Studio Explorer in which they went to several places across Pakistan to discover regional music stories and singers to bring them to the lime light. The series was released on 3 July 2018.

Seasons overview[edit]

SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedProducer/Curators
First airedLast aired
147 June 2008 (2008-06-07)4 August 2008 (2008-08-04)Rohail Hyatt
2514 June 2009 (2009-06-14)14 August 2009 (2009-08-14)Rohail Hyatt
351 June 2010 (2010-06-01)31 July 2010 (2010-07-31)Rohail Hyatt
4522 May 2011 (2011-05-22)17 July 2011 (2011-07-17)Rohail Hyatt
5513 May 2012 (2012-05-13)8 July 2012 (2012-07-08)Rohail Hyatt
6527 October 2013 (2013-10-27)5 January 2014 (2014-01-05)Rohail Hyatt
7721 September 2014 (2014-09-21)22 November 2014 (2014-11-22)Strings
8716 August 2015 (2015-08-16)4 October 2015 (2015-10-04)Strings
9713 August 2016 (2016-08-13)24 September 2016 (2016-09-24)Strings
10711 August 2017 (2017-08-11)21 September 2017 (2017-09-21)Strings
11910 August 2018 (2018-08-10)19 October 2018 (2018-10-19)Ali Hamza & Zohaib Kazi
12611 October 2019 (2019-10-11)29 November 2019 (2019-11-29)Rohail Hyatt
1344 December 2020 (2020-12-04)25 December 2020 (2020-12-25)Rohail Hyatt
141414 January 2022 (2022-01-14)22 March 2022 (2022-03-22)Xulfi
151114 April 2024 (2024-04-14)TBAXulfi

Featured artists[edit]

Below is a list of artists who have performed in Coke Studio.

Season 1 (2008)[edit]

Season 2 (2009)[edit]

Season 3 (2010)[edit]

Season 4 (2011)[edit]

Season 5 (2012)[edit]

Season 6 (2013)[edit]

Season 7 (2014)[edit]

Season 8 (2015)[edit]

Season 9 (2016)[edit]

Season 10 (2017)[edit]

Explorer 2018[edit]

  • Ariana and Amrina:
    Both Amrina and Ariana, whose birth name was Farsi Gul and who changed it to her current name after American singer Ariana Grande are members of the Kalash community residing in Bumburet Valley of Chitral. Both have been singing together locally since the age of five.
  • Shamu Bai and Vishnu:
    This brother and sister duo were classically trained by their father Arjun and hail from Deewan Lal Chand a village in rural Sindh. They are famous for their bhajans at local jagrans and have also performed at local gatherings, weddings and festivals.
  • Mangal Khan, Darehan Khan Maula Baksh and Shayan Maula Baksh:
    Known as "Baloch Throat Musicians", Mangal Khan together with Darehan and Shyan hails from Dera Bugti District in Balochistan. One of few singers who have been performing using throat singing technique called "overtone singing" (in Balochi known as "Nar-sur") for over thirty-years. Kazi compared their music to Tuvan singing of Mongolian monks.
  • Mishal Khawaja:
    Born in Pakistan and raised in Toronto, Mishal Khawaja hails from Lahore. Mishal begin her career with covers and released her first original single digitally in 2015 titled "Murder" which was then followed by "Do You Feel it" and "Vertigo". She was discovered by Kazi and Hamza, after they saw her work on Instagram. On her singing Kazi said, "she has a unique, refreshing take on urban music and sings with a lot of passion."
  • Qasamir:
    Band of four musicians led by Altaf Mir with Ghulam Mohammad Daar, Manzoor Ahmed Khan, Saifuddin Shah hails from Muzaffarabad. Mir is a master craftsman and together with Ghulam Muhammad has worked for Radio Pakistan for forty-years, while Manzoor is a rickshaw driver and Saifuddin is a professional chef. Together they known form a band Qasamir (to resonate with Kashmir).

Season 11 (2018)[edit]

Season 12 (2019)[edit]

Season 13 (2020)[edit]

Season 14 (2022)[edit]

Season 15 (2024)[edit]

  • Babar Mangi
  • Marvi Saiban
  • Noman Ali Rajper

Reception[edit]

Following success in Pakistan after its first launch, Coke Studio has become an international franchise. The Pakistani show has amassed a large fan base in neighbouring country, India.[21] The success of the show prompted Coca-Cola to launch the Indian version Coke Studio @ MTV, with a similar format, which has proven to be both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.[22] The Indian version has been produced by MTV India.[23] In April 2012, an Arab version of the show, Coke Studio بالعربي was launched in the Middle East featuring performances by various Arabic and international music artists, produced by the songwriter Michel Elefteriades. Following the success of the Pakistani and Indian version, The Bangladeshi installment Coke Studio Bangla was launched on 7 February 2022.

Coke Studio has also been seen as an economic process of transnationalism and as a transnational television production, with its production systems being created and augmented by global flows of artists, technology, distribution and economics. Within this process, economic structures are created, opened and even reoriented; influences are borrowed and music produced; communities and heritage discovered and remained – this is done intellectually and physically, and more importantly, transnationally.[24]

On 1 November 2017, Atif Aslam's rendition of Sabri Brothers' qawwali "Tajdar-e-Haram" in Coke Studio Season 8 crossed 100 million views on YouTube, becoming the first video originating in Pakistan to achieve the landmark record. It has been viewed in 186 countries across the world. Later, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's rendition of "Afreen Afreen" featuring Momina Mustehsan, on 3 November, became the second video of Pakistani origin to mark 100 million on YouTube. It was released on 19 August 2016, with Faakhir who served as music directed for it; it was originally performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.[25] In season 14 2022, "Pasoori" by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill crossed 313 million views on YouTube and has gone viral in India. As of July 2022, these three videos have surpassed 972+ million views.[26]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "'Music Transcends Everything': Coke Studio Fuses Genres and Cultures, Creates International Franchise". The Coca-Cola Company. 1 November 2013. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  2. ^ Malik, Asma (27 July 2018). "#Humdekhenge: Here's how Coke Studio is promoting cultural diversity in Pakistan". Daily Pakistan. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Coke Studio 11 gears up for season premiere". The Express Tribune. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  4. ^ Sanjay Monie (17 June 2011). "Coke Studio Brings People Together". Forbes India. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Rohail Hyatt Quits from Coke Studio". brand synario. Sami Iqbal. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  6. ^ Mahmood, Rafay (31 July 2014). "Raising the curtain on Coke Studio 7". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Coke Studio Season 7, with Strings attached". Dawn. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Strings bids farewell to Coke Studio". Dawn Images. 29 October 2017. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Strings bid farewell to Coke Studio on a good note". The Express Tribune. 29 October 2017. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Revealed: Here's who will be producing Coke Studio 11". Something Haute. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Ali Hamza, Zohaib Kazi new producers on Coke Studio". Dunya News. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  12. ^ Ali Raj; Rafay Mahmood (25 January 2019). "Rohail Hyatt returns to 'Coke Studio' after five years". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  13. ^ Rafay Mahmood (23 July 2019). "Exclusive: Rohail Hyatt overhauls House Band for 'Coke Studio 12'". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  14. ^ Saman Siddiqui (20 November 2020). "Rohail Hayat to return with Coke Studio Season 13". OyeYeah News. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  15. ^ Tribune's Correspondent (19 March 2021). "Rohail Hyatt steps down as 'Coke Studio' producer". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  16. ^ Desk Report (15 June 2021). "It's official! Xulfi is replacing Rohail Hyatt for the next season of Coke Studio". Dawn. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Coke Studio all set to launch Season 10". The News. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  18. ^ Rehman, Maliha (2 October 2016). "The making of Coke Studio: The 120-person crew, a wannabe Deepika and other fun facts". Images. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  19. ^ Maheen Sabeeh (21 June 2009). "Coke Studio and Beyond: The wonderful world of Umber and Rohail Hyatt". Daily Jang. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  20. ^ Eeshah Omer (7 July 2017). "Here's the nitty gritty: Farhan Saeed to perform in Coke Studio Season 10!". Daily Pakistan. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  21. ^ "If India boasts about Taj Mahal, Pakistan should boast about Coke Studio". The Express Tribune. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  22. ^ Rafay Mahmood (30 January 2013). "'I took Rohail's blessings before starting our Coke Studio in India'". The Express Tribune.
  23. ^ IANS (26 May 2011). "Coke Studio to rock India". The Express Tribune.
  24. ^ Rashmi Dhanwani. "COKE STUDIO: Investigating the 'transnational' in its labour, technological and economic relations". Academia.edu. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  25. ^ "Tajdar-e-Haram becomes most viewed Pakistani song on Youtube". The Nation. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  26. ^ "Coke Studio - Videos Sorted by Most Popular". Youtube. Retrieved 29 June 2022.

External links[edit]