Coke Studio Pakistan has given us six incredibly glorious seasons. Any performance that falls below expectations will be severely punished by the fans. (We haven’t forgotten KOKOKO Korina, mind you)!
From the collaboration of Ali Azmat & Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & the fusion of Ali Zafar & Tufail Ahmed in Season 1 to the unimaginable mix of international musicians in Season 6 – we have many fond musical memories.
While Rohail Hyatt has a vast collection of accolades under his belt, Coke Studio is a platform that has given him a vast stage to highlight his multiple talents & showcase an exceptional music producer, unlike any other in the history of this country.
Three Ways Rohail Hyatt Revived The Pakistani Music Scene
Coke Studio: A Ground Breaking Program for Young Talent
The Pakistan music industry was flailing. While our talented musicians were working hard, they just didn’t have a platform to reach the masses. This was a great way for musicians to get some recognition as generally the singer gets all the attention while the real heroes remain in the shadows.
The show featured a house band which had some of the high-profile musicians in the country including, Omran Shafique on guitars, Kamran Zafar on bass guitars, Zeeshan Parwez on keyboards and turntables, Louis ‘Gumby’ Pinto on drums.
A Platform Like No Other
Over the seasons, the show has launched the careers of many talented musicians and given a platform to showcase their talents. This continues to this day, but Rohail Hyatt was the one who started the trend:
While this show brought some of the giants like Ali Azmat, Hadiqa Kiani and Atif Aslam, Rohail introduced the masses to some gems we hadn’t heard of before, like Zeb Bangash, Sanam Marvi, Saeen Zahoor, Bilal Khan, Zara Madni, etc.
He also brought back legends like Abida Parveen, Tina Sani, Ataullah Esa Khelvi and Alamgir and for this alone the nation should forever be indebted to Coke Studio.
The traditional Qawwali was also revolutionized by this show, with some mesmerizing performances by great names like Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad. For a generation that had lost touch with its roots, this reintroduction to qawwali opened the doors to a whole new genre for the young generation.
Coke Studio also revived Sufi music and made it mainstream. After Junoon disbanded, Sufi music had faded in the shadows but it was revived and reintroduced by many soulful renditions throughout the past few seasons.
A Fusion Of Desi & Pardesi
Rohail Hayat’s final season as the producer was Season 6, which was exceptional in so many ways, that many people assumed he left because … what else was there left to do? The house band featured international musicians for the first time in the show’s history, from countries like Italy, Serbia, Nepal, Turkey, Bangladesh, Morocco and Norway.
This season marked the first time for foreign artists to be featured on the show, with the likes of Sweden-based Balochi singer Rostam Mirlashari and Turkish singer Sumru Ağıryürüyen.
The most mind-blowing aspect of this season was that there were pieces by many musicians which were recorded separately, thousands of miles away, but fused so beautifully with the track that one couldn’t help but marvel at the genius thought process behind this.
Will Coke Studio Season 12 Blow Us Away?
As the new season is just a few weeks away, we are all super excited with many expectations. From exciting collaborations to being introduced to unheard artists, there are so many reasons to look forward to the show – and Rohail Hyatt is definitely one of them! We can already predict, (by Rohail Hyatt’s previous endeavors) that Coke Studio Season 12 will be the best season yet – if not, our musical crystal ball has a LOT to answer to all Coke Studio fans who just can’t wait to hear from him!
While we wait, please share your favorite songs in the comments with us and tell us why YOU are excited to have Rohail Hyatt back in the producer’s seat.
