KARACHI: As a nation, we have the unfortunate habit of tearing people down. It isn’t just politics (laced with empty rhetoric) that elicits this response, but pretty much everything.
A particular case in point: popular culture. Instead of celebrating Farjad Nabi and Meenu Gaur’s Zinda Bhaag as Pakistan’s official entry to the Academy Awards, or its excellent soundtrack, we have somehow found a way of minimising its stature as an important film due to reasons beyond comprehension.
When it comes to music, the success of Coke Studio has led to an increased interest in mainstream music from corporate investors. Since 2008, we’ve seen shows like Uth Records, Cornetto Music Icon, Pepsi Smash, Nescafe Basement and Fanta Rocks emerge on to the music scene. It’s a delicate mix of numbers and popularity. Some of the shows need work. Others, though short-lived, create an interesting space for music. The trippy music video for Orangenoise’s Chaser, for example, is still one of Uth Records’ most memorable eclectic moments.
Pepsi Smash may have won fans over, but even that earned mixed reviews from the press. It had its highs and lows, but its biggest selling point was that the show made an active attempt to bring electronic music to the forefront, collaborating with popular acts like Noori, Strings and SYMT. While independent electronic music in Pakistan is gob-smackingly good, it still needs to find a space within the mainstream. Perhaps Pepsi Smash will help bridge the divide as it evolves, piquing curiosity among listeners.
Nescafe Basement, with Xulfi (of Call) at the helm, has hit its second season and, according to the producer, the response has been great. The debate as to whether or not it will take down Coke Studio, or any other show for that matter, is pointless, and signifies the deeper problem of a lack of awareness within the public. One could choose to like the show as an effort from young musicians, or complain needlessly about the fact that covers don’t qualify as original in an era where songs are re-done all the time.
On the other end of the spectrum is an independent show called Lussun TV. A fully DIY effort, it features promising musicians producing original content. Produced from Karachi, it is not backed by a corporate sponsor, and features acts from multiple cities, such as Natasha Humera Ejaz (Islamabad), Basheer & the Pied Pipers (Islamabad) and Mooroo’s Music (Lahore).
As time passes, some shows will pick up on their mistakes and improve. Others might fall into the trap of redundancy. Given the absence of fewer live performances, nonexistent music festivals and the abundance of TV channels that insist on only playing crude item songs, corporate-backed shows fill the void by offering a platform to showcase new music. How well one performs as a producer or a featured artiste depends on one’s ideas, or lack thereof.
In the case of Coke Studio, the show has made a conscious effort to revamp its sound. By the fifth season that ran last year, fatigue wasn’t restricted to just the listeners, but also affected the musicians involved. The recently released sixth season, which now includes musicians from Serbia, Nepal and other countries, is a gradual and necessary transformation. The idea that it should include musicians exclusively from Pakistan is ludicrous. If musicians from Pakistan can perform in other countries and collaborate with other musicians, there is no reason why the same can’t ring true for Coke Studio.
The concept of music shows is thriving across the border with Coke Studio (India), the third season of The Dewarists, and a new show Sound Trek that aired earlier this year.
Comparisons are inevitable, but the need to pull one thing down in order to demonstrate another’s success is disheartening. Coke Studio is not fixated on Pakistan. The sounds from the rich past of this region transcend borders, and when one thinks about it, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2013.
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