Coke Studio Season 9 Episode Five

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The Sound of the Nation, Coke Studio, has kept fans truly amazed with a vast line-up of diverse talented performers in its ninth season. The upcoming Episode 5 offers an exceptional sound palette featuring rising stars like Momina  Mustehsan, Junaid Khan, Rachel Viccaji and Kashif Ali along with veteran performers such as RahatFateh Ali Khan, Javed Bashir, Shahzad Nawaz and Masooma  Anwar. The episode is set to be aired on all leading television channels on Saturday, September 10.

The Episode will be featuring 4 songs, including ‘Main Raasta’ by Junaid Khan and Momina Mustehsan, ‘Jhalliya’ by Javed Bashir, Masooma Anwar and Shahzad Nawaz, ‘Shamaan Pai Gaiyaan’ by Kashif Ali and Rachel Viccaji and ‘Saada’ by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

Rachel Viccaji, who will be seen performing a duet with Kashif Ali, is on the stage as the lead vocalist a second time but has been part of the back vocalists’ trio since last 6 seasons. Talking about her association with Coke Studio, she said, “It’s a great feeling to be a part of it. There is a lot of learning. You get to work with such lamented musicians; the house band, different artists and music directors. What I love the most is the family environment that is here and it’s important to create this environment to keep up the morale for everyone.”

Included in the fifth episode of Coke Studio is the second song in the Season of one of the most talked about singers of the season, Momina Mustehsan. Momina will be seen performing a guitar solo in her upcoming song. 

Talking about ‘Mai Raasta’, performed by Momina Mustehsan and Junaid Khan, the music directors Noori said, “The fun part of this song is that we all made it together. Junaid wrote the lyrics of his part, whereas Momina wrote the lyrics for her part. And it’s performed in the form of a jam where Momina will be seen playing a guitar solo as well. We are very excited because this will probably be the first pop rock anthem on Coke Studio.”

A true collaboration between Momina Mustehsan and Junaid Khan, ‘Main Raasta’ is a firecracker of a pop-rock anthem that brims with confidence. Powerful and emotive, the track screams music directors Noori’s signature style – awash with pounding drums and warped guitars, masterfully blending into one another. The teamwork went beyond lending the voices; the duo struck a balance by spending several days confined in a studio working on the melody and the lyrics. Junaid’s hushed chest voice and perfect falsetto puts the expressivity of Momina’s vocals at the forefront of the track featuring a guitar solo by her that helps bring the song’s explosive personality to life.

The song  ‘Jhalliya’ by the duo, Javed Bashir and Masooma Anwar stay familiarly close to their dual strengths. With a bracing blend of swift guitar, the track opens in an intimate atmosphere as Shahzad Nawaz makes a guest appearance narrating words by Bulleh Shah at intervals. In the original composition by Faakhir Mehmood, and additional lyrics by SabirZafar and Javed Bashir, this sufi-style rendition builds into something with much more energy, spirit and life. The high-pitched vocals of Javed and the deep tones of Masooma, strikingly fuse with an unstoppable groove, a bouncing chorus and a flickering drumbeat. 

‘Shamaan PaiGaiyaan / Kee Dam Da Bharosa’, the third song of the episode, is a duet featuring Kashif Ali and Rachel Viccaji – might trick you into believing that its simply going to be more of the same. Starting with Kashif’s low key vocals over tiptoeing piano, the first track originally sung by NaseeboLal is structured by music director Shiraz Uppal in a way that keeps the quiet, unplugged moments interesting. Half way through the track, Rachel enters with those rich soulful vocal tones set against the high-energy double tempo highlights in the instrumentation featuring a slick bass solo by Amir Azhar. Ironically, the same Amir Azhar played mandolin for the original track, sung by Madam Noor Jehan in 1996 – the last time she sang for a film.

The last song of the episode ‘Sadaa’ by the legend RahatFateh Ali Khan acts as a transport to a faraway land with Khan’s powerful vocals that bleed into this soul stirring ‘dhamaal’ to honor Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. The glorious rolling melody composed by Rahat himself float over the recognizable traditional rhythm of the dhol and dholak at the shrines – accompanied by a funk soundscape comprising restricted drums, immaculate bass lines, electric guitar et al – skillfully constructed by music director Shani Arshad.

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