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Coke Studio – Old is Truly the Gold

Coke Studio – Old is Truly the Gold

You’re a fan of Iqbal. You absolutely devour his piece Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa. You wonder what it would be like if someone mixed it up with a bit of modern music. And then there it is; starting off with a powerful thrust of drums and electric guitar, carried by Natasha Baig’s extremely powerful vocals. She remains studious throughout the 5 minutes of her Shikwa. With a sudden turn of events, the song becomes a Qawali, with tabla and subtle drums blaring in the background, beautifully handled by Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad. The song seems to penetrate through your soul, mixing with your blood, making you warm, and making you want to listen to it soon after the song finishes playing.

Yes, this is the mighty Coke Studio we’re talking about. Continuing over from 2008, it is the only annually running music television show of Pakistan. Coke studio has managed to captivate millions of people with their marvelous production skills along with the melodious texture of the music. I mean, let’s admit, most of us wouldn’t have listened to chiryan da chamba, shikwa/ jawab-e shikwa, aed il kisi ki yad main, ham q chalain us rah par and all the other oldies, had it not been for Coke Studio reviving them.
There’s Nescafe Basement as well, in contrast. Started in 2012, it is mostly famous for bringing in the new generation for paying tributes to old songs. But let’s be honest for a moment here; it still has an enormous amount of journey to cover before it reaches the level of Coke studio- or maybe it probably never will still.
Well, let’s not just put our opinions. Let the public speak for itself.
We, at NMC decided to take people’s opinions regarding the two music television shows.
Emaan (SEECS): Dekho, what’s the point of putting bachay in Nescafe Basement to sing mature songs? They don’t have dard in their voice. People can’t relate. Coke studio has actual mature people, so of course I prefer Coke studio more.
Ouch, Nescafe Basement. That must have hurt. I think they were just trying to be different, but oh well. People think differently. Well, anyways, that’s score 1 for Coke Studio, and 0 for Nescafe Basement.

“Paar Chanaa Da” One of the best CS “Dard” songs
Abdullah Khan (SADA): Coke Studio has much better artists than Nescafe Basement, and since I’m more of a Coca Cola person, I tend to listen to it more.
Well, there seems to be some bias here. But let’s not forget, people listen to those songs more with which they can relate to or have had some experience with. So, if you’re a coffee person you might want to listen to Nescafe Basement more. It’s okay to be biased in what you like. Don’t worry, no one’s judging you. This is do hazar unees anyways. *silently judges*
Rubab Qaiser (NBS): You can’t deny that Coke Studio has its own Shashka and Nescafe Basement cannot match with it. Coke Studio is international, like India has it as well, which heightens the India-Pakistan rivalry, and it’s always fun to see that. And Nescafe Basement isn’t.

Oooooo, is India going to come at us after looking at this? *grabs popcorn* Meh, they won’t be a good match. They don’t have such a cool Coke studio.
Qudsiya (SADA): Coke studio has much more experienced artists and not just chotay bachay. This increases the credibility of the song, because you can actually trust the artist to pay tribute to an old beauty. True that, sister.

Anonymous (SMME): Coke Studio plays with a lot of instruments, which is why it is so strong and has jaan in it.
Yes, that’s the thing about their music. It enraptures you completely.

Danyal Sarfraz (SADA): They have mature singers. They know what they’re doing. It’s easy to be different, but it’s difficult to be better. Just like Nescafe Basement brought in children to sing songs. Sure, it was different, but the songs would have sounded much better had the songs been sung by experienced singers. Second, the music that they both have is pretty good, but the fact that Coke studio has better directors tops it all. Because of this, and Coke Studio’s better advertisement, people listen to it more. Coke Studio has better promotion so Coke Studio comes over to you while Nescafe Basement only now with their season 5 started any proper promotions.

So what should be the final verdict?

COKE STUDIO! Personally and maybe even subjectively, I think that we have enough reasons to believe that Coke Studio is much better than Nescafe Basement, and if you still don’t, well then… you probably have very bad taste in music. Just kidding, you are free to like anything you want. After all, this is do hazar unees. Salam.

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About The Author

Hamda Shafiq

Social, friendly, extrovert. Loves to talk about deep shit. Personal therapist of many, so you know where to come when you need to talk. Very understanding. Not very good with sarcasm, unfortunately. And an aspiring (plus mediocre) artist and writer, aiming to break walls, and become a legacy.