Coke Studio has finally reinvented itself in a manner that it may come back with the same producer if grapevine is to be believed. Another show, which removed the ‘agenda-based’ show to one celebrating present-day music could be coming back. A slew of independent music shows, past and present, continue to remind us that despite the genres of music that pop up on our screens, there are a great deal that still need to explored.

Corporate-backed shows continue to appear and disappear, but not before some of them leave an irreplicable mark. Independent musicians continue to release, backed by all kinds of innovative visuals, singles and short films time and again.

So, you have to ask yourself if there was a need for a show as bizarre as Kashmir Beats?

Introduced by Kashmir Cooking Oil, the music series (in its second season) has popular pop culture names, most of whom do not belong in music. Just because musicians have turned to the small and big screen, doesn’t mean actors or hosts can do the same in reverse.

No show has made this more painfully obvious than Kashmir Beats. Waseem Badami and Najam Shiraz collaborate on ‘Na Tera Khuda Koi Aur Hai’ and not just the rendition but even the background looks like VFX gone very, very wrong. If this pairing wasn’t enough, KB offers Waseem Badami with Shuja Haider for the rendition of ‘Ya Nabi (P.B.U.H)’.

It’s as though producers/artists from Coke Studio’s previous seasons got together and made a version that fits nowhere.

Mehwish Hayat appears for the single, ‘Swag’ while Shuja Haider & Ayesha Ijlal join forces for ‘Safina’. More surprises include Urwa Hocane singing ‘Dil Dara’ with Shany Haider. Shany Haider is also present on ‘Pehla Pyar’, this time collaborating with Zarnish Khan.

Hira Mani, Hiba Bukhari, Anoushay Abbasi and Bushra Ansari are some of the other famous faces showcasing their voices through the show. There are also musicians like Rup Magon (of Josh) and others, but it is a sonic mismatch. In fact, this is the biggest part of the problem. The collaborations feel as if they aren’t well-thought out and the result is chaotic. It makes you feel you’re listening to two different songs at the same time, the ambivalence rising with exploration of each song.

There are one or two songs that can be labelled as the saving grace or silver lining of the series, if you will.

‘Khush Bichar Ker’ by Farhan Saeed can be interpreted as a broken love song is a decent effort. He is a bonafide singer who knows his audience and has an understanding of what suits his voice the most. Then there is the following he’s enjoyed as a musician before jumping to acting and you have a multi-talented artist in true terms.

The rolling stone that is Ali Azmat makes an appearance with ‘Haq Allah’ where he is joined by Shani Arshad for some godforsaken reason. It would’ve been smarter to let Ali Azmat carry the song. Nonetheless, Ali Azmat was in his element but the performance was still marred by Shani also taking the mic.

Ultimately, it isn’t about the number of musicians who are associated with the series but the odd collaborations with actors. It doesn’t work because we’re accustomed to better voices, songs, and visuals, making this and the visuals it carried fall flat. It cannot match any series from indie to corporate but is simply a feeble effort.

To save yourself the trouble of listening to each of these songs where the audio-visual landscape is not up to par - at least in this day and age - you could look forward to Farhan Saeed and Ali Azmat.

For sheer amusement, however, you should watch KB. It’s kind of like watching a volcano explode but even as it does, you can’t take your eyes off it. Otherwise, skip it.