As news of the upcoming fourteenth season of Coke Studio unveils, we find more and more reasons to be excited. But we wonder if the excitement should be held in check, because some of the promised may never materialize.

The latest news, according to Instep sources, is that Atif Aslam, one of the country’s leading contemporary names, will collaborate with electronic music prodigy, Abdullah Siddiqui, and Kamal Khan set to direct.

The news comes after Abdullah has collaborated with Meesha Shafi, Fawad Khan and content ft. Mahira Khan. Abdullah’s rise in the music scene, as he continues to drop independent albums, and works within the mainstream scene without losing his signature has been most exciting things to watch.

The Coke Studio landscape has many interesting collaborations brewing. Faisal Kapadia, the glorious voice that was a part of Strings for at least three decades, is now going out on his own much like Bilal Maqsood. On Coke Studio, Faisal Kapadia will collaborate with Young Stunners. There is also talk of collaboration between two giants from the eastern and folk music genres, but it remains to be seen if that materializes. Atif Aslam, Momina Mustehsan, Veeru Shan, Zain Ali, Soch, Karakoram, Eva B, Hasan Raheem, Justin Bibis will be part of the line-up for this season. Another new name is of Talal Qureshi who will also feature in the upcoming season that is on floors but is scheduled, tentatively speaking, to release early next year.

-This is a developing story

Baluch Twins and the saga of PISA 2021

Baluch Twins have had a good run in 2021, getting nominated at the long-standing Lux Style Awards and the second edition of the emerging Pakistan International Screen Awards (PISA) in 2021 that were held in the U.A.E. It was a celebration of entertainment and artists coming together and was designed from the get-go to be inclusive.

However, PISA 2021 suffered from a slight – as compared to last year - logistic nightmare that left a sour taste in some mouths. This, in turn, meant nominees were unable to make it to the event. Such was the case of one Baluch Twins, who had their tickets cancelled and found the whole process “disrespectful, humiliating and an attack on our mental health” as they said on Instagram. They believed this was done out of a deeper malice. Had that been the case, Abid Brohi would not have made it to the show or Aima Baig, a winner, would have made it to Dubai or the high flying Bayaan, who are also having a remarkable run during the recent award season, would’ve made it to the elaborate ceremony. The logistical glitches seen as snubs are not actually snubs or else these artists wouldn’t have made it past the nomination stage.

But, perhaps, because music is always surpassed or side-lined by other arenas of entertainment such as television, film or even fashion, it has led to a larger sense of mistrust within music community insiders.

PISA management, on their part, has tendered an apology to Baluch Twins. A statement noted, “The management at PISA would foremost like to apologize to the Baluch Twins for the inconvenience they experienced by not being able to attend the PISA’21 show in Dubai on November 5, 2021. The Baluch Twins were one of five esteemed nominees in the Song of the Year category.”

“In light of the accusations made, PISA would like to elaborate that the circumstances were a result of the cancellation of the flight the Baluch Twins were originally booked on. Twenty-nine PISA guests were on two Lahore to Dubai flights that were cancelled. Despite all efforts, several of those people could not be adjusted on alternate flights and unfortunately, the Baluch Twins were two of them. Covid advisories, the T20 Series and the Expo traffic all contributed to the unfortunate situation,” the management reiterated.

It does look like discrimination accusations, in the end, are uncalled for, but, to avoid such a mess, PISA needs to get its logistics right, something that stood out like a sore thumb last year as well.