Coke Studio Nu.WAV begins its journey with the release of its first track, Dil, bringing together Afusic and Zoha Waseem in an intimate exploration of love, distraction and the person who remains at the centre of it all.
The first of six releases from Coke Studio Nu.WAV, Dil began almost instinctively. Producer Ali Soomro started with his guitar, and within twenty minutes, a beat had begun to take shape. Later that night, it reached Afusic, who sent back a voice note with bare vocals recorded on his phone. By the next morning, there was little desire to change what had arrived so naturally. Soomro describes that moment as aamad: an idea finding you before you go looking for it.
What emerged is a deeply personal love song. Afusic’s verses speak to the woman who knew him before success brought greater attention, distractions and a world that rarely stays quiet. When Zoha enters, the song shifts from a private address into a conversation, with her voice offering the other side of the relationship.
The visual world of Dil, directed by Kamal Khan, takes that idea of disruption and pushes it into the surreal. The story is loosely inspired by classic hero’s journey tales; following a man, Afusic, struggling to find his way back home. Zoha, meanwhile, lives in a world that’s literally turned upside down without him. Furniture hangs from the ceiling; everyday objects are out of place. It’s only when they finally find themselves in the same room that everything falls back into place.
Speaking about the song, Kamal Khan, Executive Producer, Coke Studio Nu.WAV, said, “Dil felt like the right song to open Coke Studio Nu.WAV because it captures what we want this platform to be about: artists bringing something personal and making it their own. The song comes from a very real place, and visually we took the idea of love being tested by distraction and built a slightly surreal world around it. Afusic moves through all that noise while Zoha gives the song another perspective, and eventually both worlds come together.”
Dil brings together two artists whose musical journeys reflect the wider spirit of Nu.WAV.
Hyderabad-born singer, songwriter and rapper Afusic has grown from an independent digital-first artist into one of the emerging voices shaping contemporary South Asian pop and hip-hop. His breakout hit Pal Pal amassed hundreds of millions of streams and reached audiences well beyond Pakistan, including chart success in the UK and Canada.
Zoha Waseem, meanwhile, brings a strong foundation of classical and ghazal singing into contemporary pop. Having first gained recognition through classical performances in Lahore, her releases including Majboor introduced her to a growing digital audience while establishing a sound that bridges traditional vocal training with modern production.
Dil is written and composed by Afusic and Ali Raza, with music arranged and produced by Ali Soomro, and mastered by Sean Tallman. The film is directed by Kamal Khan, with Aamir Mughal as Director of Photography and Syed Hammad Sohail leading production design. The project is produced by Gali Films, with Iman Khan as Producer.
Dil is the first of six Coke Studio Nu.WAV releases, with new songs and creative worlds set to unfold over the coming weeks.
Dil by Afusic × Zoha Waseem is out now across Coke Studio’s official digital platforms.