In the fourth episode of the on-air eleventh edition of Coke Studio, which featured three songs, it was music group Chand Tara Orchestra (CTO) that held your attention the most. They have broken new ground on the most contested and watched music show in the country and beyond, as a band.
Even as the episode featured several darlings of the music world such as Shuja Haider with Aima Baig, who collaborated on a song called ‘Aatish’ and the new generation of mainstream pop, represented by Asim Azhar and Momina Mustehsan on ‘Mahi Aaja’, it’s CTO who delivered a gem in the form of ‘Nami Danam’. In doing so, they make us realise once again just how strong they are as a band and their incredible potential, experience and vision.
Performing ‘Nami Danam’ - that was jointly composed by Omran ‘Momo’ Shafique, Babar Sheikh, Shaheryar ‘Sherry’ Tariq and Rizwanullah Khan, they have you from the very start of the video-audio experience. Described as post-rock take on Persian kalaam by Khwaja Usman Harooni, they are joined by Kami Paul on drums and that’s it.
‘Nami Danam’, translates to ‘I don’t know’ and it really is grunge/post-rock genius that hardly comes along anymore. As the song hits a crescendo and Sherry sings ‘Mee Raqsam, Mee Raqsam, Mee Raqsam’ which translates to ‘I am dancing, I am dancing, I am dancing,’ it is quite simply a striking song that you want to keep coming back to - whether you call it grunge, post-rock or a concoction of the two genres.
The band comes together as the song builds and it is neither lathered up with too much or too little but gives you a taste of CTO, whose earlier productions such as ‘Khak Nasheen’ and ‘Makki Madni’ had left us yearning for more. ‘Nami Danam’ adds to that curiosity and yearning.
–Photo by Insiya Syed
