In episode six, the music series gets almost everything right as Sounds of Kolachi makes a worthy debut, Ali Azmat collaborates with Riaz Qadri and Ghulam Qadri, and Hassan Jahangir joins forces with Gul Panrra for his classic hit, ‘Hawa Hawa’.
After getting two out of three songs right in its last episode, Coke Studio 11, with Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi acting as co-producers, has managed to do a lot in episode six that comprises three songs.
Ali Azmat, who collaborated with Abida Parveen (‘Ghoom Charakhra’) and Mangal, Darehan, Shayan (‘Dil Hai Pakistani’) respectively this season, has joined forces with Riaz Qadri and Ghulam Ali Qadri – who performed with Krewella (‘Runaway’), also this season.
This simply means that after pulling off brilliant songs, expectations from both artists were high. With their collaborative effort, ‘Tere Liye’, they live up to that weight.
As Riaz Qadri tells us, it is ‘Sindhi-Bhairvi Raag’, a raag of the morning before the three artists including Ali Azmat reiterate that Coke Studio is about fusions, jugalbandi, and is “about bringing people together musically. There are so many elements; blue-grass, blues, funk, reggae.”
Born out of a jam session, ‘Tere Liye’ is penned by Ali Azmat, Riaz Qadri and Ghulam Qadri and is sung in Urdu/Saraiki.
It speaks of separation, a pierced heart and longing before going into the many genres slowly that Azmat spoke of in the BTS and reminds you of his groovy Klashinifolk days. Azmat sings of discontent with the absence of the beloved, interspersed with a sexy guitar solo from Omran Shafique, before the focus shifts back to Riaz Qadri & Ghulam Qadri. It is an experimental piece, much like a lot of this season, the artists it has introduced and showcased and it’s a gem. It is also a song where the house-band shines as much as the artists. It’s the kind of fusion Coke Studio was built on, where artists have free reign to create music magic. It’s a part rollicking, part serene number that reminds you of the strength of all the players involved and the vision of the producers to rely on their strengths rather than cage them.
Sounds of Kolachi, the music group led by Ahsan Bari, also made their debut in this episode and like all things they do, this performance was certainly not a disappointment.
As Ahsan Bari noted in the BTS footage, the song is about someone who can’t find peace and has embarked on the journey of self discovery. “He’s a part of the worldly affairs but there’s still a disconnect.”
He adds: “His intuition differs from whatever has been fed to him since childhood. When he starts searching for answers, a new conversation begins. This (‘Ilallah’) is the conversation that he’s having. This song is about the most beautiful relationship between the Creator and the one He has created.”
Sounds of Kolachi is a big band, with a sarangi player, a couple of vocalists as well as a sitar player and in this song, the house-band has played a supporting role.
‘Ilallah’, composed with lyrics by Ahsan Bari, adds the spiritual component to the episode as well as the question of self discovery that remains a personal quest of many. But musically, the song showcases the Eastern-Western combination Sounds of Kolachi have become known for including an orchestral element that elevates the song and the experience it offers.
Mixing a variety of instruments and running at a little over nine minutes, it is, in some ways an introduction of both Sounds of Kolachi and the mighty talents of Ahsan Bari on a national platform.
‘Ilallah’ is written with a lot of heart and purity, and refers to listening to the heart, the desperation for the beloved, the chaos inside and in the process showcases the eloquent poetry he is capable of.
The weeping sarangi, the uplifting moments created through the sitar, only add to the song that elates in one moment, and makes you emotional in another.
The third song that brings back Haniya Aslam to the house-band, playing a banjo this time, is ‘Hawa Hawa’, who Hamza noted in the BTS, was a pop icon of the eighties. “Even his album was called Disco Leader.”
Never having been a fan of Hasan Jahangir or ‘Hawa Hawa’ as much as many others, I’ve always been ambivalent to him. But given the fact that he was an industry icon during one period in time and comebacks and Coke Studio go hand-in-hand, this appearance was bound to happen. His presence, seen first in the BTS image, does reveal just how much of a classic hit ‘Hawa Hawa’ is and more to the point has endured through the ages. We learn that he was always playful as he started his career and carried a certain swagger, which he has brought to Coke Studio 11.
In this episode, and probably this season, it is the most playful song and the swagger is quite something to watch. Add to it the Jhoolay Lal Lewa Group and I’m not sure Gul Panrra was needed or whether she was wasted; Hasan Jahangir could have carried the song on his own and given the way he moved on the floor at one point, he enjoyed the spotlight and had everyone on the Coke Studio floor in nostalgia mode. A groovy concoction overall.
– Photos by Insiya Syed
