The proverbial cat is out of the bag. Season fourteen of Coke Studio will indeed be produced by Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, better known as Xulfi. The debate about whether he will do a better job than his predecessors can be put on hold. However, Xulfi who has worked with the likes of Meesha Shafi, Fawad Khan, Abdullah Siddiqui, Kashmir and Karakoram in recent years, is running against a nostalgic clock and certain permanent parameters.
When Coke Studio opened its doors with season one, it baffled music fans and critics alike. By season two, which featured Saeen Zahoor, Noori and Ali Zafar as well as the likes of Meesha Shafi in a new sonic avatar, Zeb and Haniya with their debut album and a commercial Atif Aslam in a brand new light, Coke Studio had found its groove.
Between season one and season six, with Rohail Hyatt helming the seasons, Coke Studio took folk, commercial and classic artists and created hybrid collaborations and a chance for artists to present original material as well. The idea was simple: what if fans of Noori tap into Saeen Zahoor’s entity with songs like ‘Aik Alif’ or vice versa? It also became the national platform and over the years artists yearned for a chance to appear on the show.
By season six, the visuals changed and irrespective of Coke Studio’s collaboration with international artists from countries such as Serbia, Turkey and Nepal, the visual change didn’t hit the mark and in somewhat abrupt fashion, Rohail Hyatt left Coke Studio as music producer. But given the strong identity of the series constructed by then, and the voices that had been introduced to great success, everyone in the industry was vying for the job of executive producer.
When Strings took over in season seven and continued as executive producers, they were jabbed again and again for not producing seasons that were a lot closer to what their predecessor had done. But that expectation in itself is ridiculous. And Strings knew it. They made Coke Studio elaborate and introduced voices like Aima Baig, Sahir Ali Bagga, Asim Azhar, Usman Riaz and many more including the late Amjad Sabri collaborating with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Strings added colour and also opened the floor to multiple producers to mixed verdict. While names like Momima Mustehsan became the breakthrough artist, certain collaborations went very, very wrong like ‘Afreen Afreen’ and ‘Sayonee’.
With Strings stepping away as producers after four seasons and Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi, a new zest emerged. With them came the brilliant Coke Studio Explorer that disappeared after one season. More to the point, they achieved some points for having gender parity in songs like ‘Main Irada’; giving a number of bands a chance to appear on the show as well as a great showcase of folk music. Adding Haniya Aslam as the second house-band when needed on certain songs, local rap music collaborations, Zohaib and Ali Hamza managed to do more than many others in their seat.
Unfortunately, they stepped down after just one season, as Rohail Hyatt made a comeback with a flimsy season 12, featuring many modern voices that gained numbers but had been showcased on the show previously with an abomination of songs. The finesse was gone. Season 13 became the recovery season: it featured fewer songs and all of them were original.
Not everything was obtrusive as it seemed. Coke Studio went from being a show whose agenda was discovering and presenting music of the region and tapping into new and established talent to a show with a seemingly patriotic agenda. National songs like ‘Sohni Darti’, ‘Hum Dekhenge’ and several others became season openers. Religious one-off productions followed as well.
“Where they always have belonged/Cold hearts brew colder songs/Fate will play us out/With a song of pure romance/Stomp your feet and clap your hands.”-Let’s Kill Tonight’ by Panic! At the Disco
This brings us to Xulfi. Apart from working with mainstream stars, he has helmed Nescafe Basement for several years, focusing on young talent coming together. He mentored them and gave them a place to combine their talents to create songs. Abdullah Siddiqui’s ‘Resistance’ is one recent example.
He has also been backed by founding co-producer Rohail Hyatt who thinks Xulfi would be a good choice to helm the show. The question, however, is what will Xulfi do? Will he introduce artists and keep repeating a batch of artists to ensure higher numbers or will he really revamp the show, which is something it desperately needs.
Some artist repetition is necessary to keep the show going but original songs and edgier artists, who have been flying the flag of counterculture as well as the many folk and classical artists, should also be kept in mind. In other words, diversity and inclusivity is what Coke Studio 14 should be about rather than playing privy to any other agenda.
What makes Coke Studio season fourteen exciting is what the grapevine suggests; according to our information younger faces will be featured while the series is in for a complete overhaul as far as format goes. The treatment will be different than prior seasons. An overhaul in terms of the show format is also in the works. Here’s hoping that the country’s biggest music show gets its groove back.