A platter of Coke Studio

Time to explore your classical roots. And there's no better place to start than by listening to Coke Studio.

Coke Studio is a music television series which features live studio recorded performances by various artists. It is a confluence of diverse number of music genres, both vocal & instrumental, from traditional eastern to modern western and from regional to folk.

Here are some of the songs that I would recommend - 

·         Rock

1.    Garaj Baras – Rock fans, a must listen! Added distortion, fast lead solos, and Ali Azmat looking like Raghu from the Indian reality show Roadies,and trying to bring in the voice of James Hetfield makes this much heavier (and better) than the Bollywood version, from the movie Paap. That’s on the left. On the right is a wonder - Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. His 2 minute vocal solo can send every classical singer back to music school. Very surprising that this song has only 290k views.

2.    Kuch Ajab Khail – Rock Minor Scale + Raagas + the power of Shafqat Amanat Ali's voice is what this is. Another masterpiece. How are Pakistani's so talented?

·         Soul

1.    Nindiya re – What I liked about this song apart from its beauty, is its level of perfection. Be it the occasional backing effects by the 2 beautiful ladies, or the very short but mesmerizing 5 second violin solo, or the guitarist who doesn’t miss the harmonics even once (for those who don’t understand, the 2 high pitched notes at the end of every bar). Amazing what just a guitar and vocals can do.

2.    Ik Aarzu – I’d give most of the credits to the Coke Studio members for giving this song such a complete, surround feel, but the basic applause goes to the famous Paki band Jal (Yes, they are the same one's that sang the popular tracks Woh Lamhe and Aadat). Singer Farhan Saeed lets out his emotions to the fullest. But the Punjabi-wedding-like-mast-kalandar ending – what was that?

·         Depth

1.    Saari Raat – Beautiful song, but certain deviations in between spoilt it for me. But that’s the deepest I’ve heard anyone sing. Noori takes it from the lows that to the highs of a singer like Shankar Mahadevan. The best part of this song would be the transition from the classical solo to the blues-pop style at 5:48

2.    Aankhon Kay Sagar – A richer version of the original by Shafqat Amanat Ali’s older band, Fuzon. The first song on Coke Studio that I listened to, it’s etched in my memory and I’m not complaining one bit. This is the song that brings out the tsunami of emotions within you

·         Folk

1.    Jugni – Jugni, the song from the Pakistani movie Jugni, which also stars the singer Arif Lohar himself, is also known in India popularly through Saif Ali Khan’s movie Cocktail. Essentially a Punjabi-Rajasthani Folk song, but a live version with guitars, bass and drums spices things up. Not in my favourites, but hell I couldn't just ignore the Coke Studio song with the highest views - @ 11 mill!

·         Pop/RnB

1.    Down – The same name as Jay Sean’s hit RnB single, right? Well, believe it or not, it IS the same song! With just a keyboard and beatboxing background, Jay Sean, unlike other pop artists actually has a sense of scale and pitch which he displays beautifully. I wouldn’t rate the song too high, but you wouldn’t see something like this in your everyday affair. This is Coke Studio Arabia, presenting you - Down

2.    Peekaboo – Even though I’m an Indian, I do have to agree that Coke studio Pakistan is miles ahead of Coke studio India. But, India too has its ups – here, thanks to the genius Mr. Karsh Kale. Classical + Rap + Rnb, what a fusion!

I agree that the contemporary forms of music and art may be more attractive, but let us the-younger-generation try to reignite the feeling of culture and heritage within ourselves by atleast making an attempt to listen to songs like these, for this is what made us who we are. And you never know, you just might end up liking it.