Coke Studio’s latest season will feature a lot of new, young talent

KARACHI: Coke Studio has been under scrutiny for the past couple of years for losing some of its original spark and it was evident that the show was really trying to recreate the magic with the help of various producers, such as Strings and Ali Hamza. Even Rohail Hyatt was brought back for Season 12 and 13 but failed to leave a mark.

The newest season has brought Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan on board and there is reason to expect great things from him. With a successful run of Nescafe Basement under his belt, Khan (more popularly known as Xulfi) has been a coveted name for many branded musical ventures lately. For instance, he has produced Pepsi’s Khel Ja Dil Se and PSL’s anthem for the year 2020, Tayyar Hain.

“So we begin. With love. With togetherness. With collaborative power. With endless possibilities,” he wrote on his Facebook page before sharing the teaser of the new line-up. One is excited to see what Xulfi will bring to the table based on how fresh and exciting the sound and feel of the teaser is.

Arooj Aftab. Image: Nadir Firoz Khan

A special mention also goes to Arooj Aftab, who has long been a favourite for Pakistani music fans and she recently picked up two Grammy nominations for ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Best Global Music Performance’ for her song Mohabbat.

However, what’s most exciting is that the show is featuring a terrific blend of old and new. The line-up boasts several music veterans, such as Abida Parveen, Naseebo Lal, Atif Aslam, Qurat-ul-ain Baloch, Meesha Shafi, Ali Sethi and Faisal Kapadia to name a few, but also features a lot of the hottest young names that are a testament to the fact that music is finally reviving in Pakistan.

Hasan Raheem, Talal Qureshi, Faris Shafi, Abdullah Siddiqui and Young Stunners are all set to bring their creativity to the limelight. Shamoon Ismail, one feels, is missing from this line-up.

Featured image: Tala Qureshi and Hasan Raheem photographed by Nadir Firoz Khan