Coke Studio Pakistan (Urdu: کوک اِسٹوڈیو) is a Pakistani television programme and a part of the international music franchise, Coke Studio, which features studio-recorded music performances by established and emerging artists. It is the longest-running annual television music show in Pakistan, airing annually since 2008. The programme's concept originated in Brazil and has subsequently expanded its reach worldwide.
Coke Studio originated in Brazil in 2007 as a music project, initially named Estúdio Coca-Cola, with the aim of blending the styles of two Brazilian artists. The concept was adopted by Nadeem Zaman, 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. Production was handled by Hyatt, his wife Umber Hyatt, and Nofil Naqvi, a Pakistani cinematographer.[4][5]
Following the success of the live audience format in season one, Coke Studio Pakistan transitioned to a closed studio format for seasons two through thirteen. Season fourteen marked a significant shift towards pre-recorded music videos, with each song having its own dedicated video.
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.[17] 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.[18]
Musically, the format features an ever-changing and captivating blend 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 serves as 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 thirteen seasons, with each episode presenting multiple songs. However, starting from season fourteen, Xulfi, the producer of that season, altered the format by transitioning to releasing individual songs instead of featuring multiple songs within each episode.
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 ValleyofChitral. 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).
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.[19] The success of the show prompted Coca-Cola to launch the Indian version, Coke Studio @ MTV, with a similar format, which proved to be both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.[20] The Indian version has been produced by MTV India.[21] 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 successes of the Pakistani and Indian versions, a Bangladeshi edition, 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.[22]
