What is brewing in the basement
You must be wondering, “What is brewing in the basement?” well, a vivid red mug that is thumped upon the platform of Pakistan’s Music Industry by the one and only Zulfiqar ‘Xulfi’ Jabbar Khan with his beans that are crushed and unraveled to unleash young blood like Hadiya Hashmi who uses her skilled yet innocent voice with Adnan Dhool’s husky, gritty vocals that are poured along with “Soch” the Band, seamlessly blending into connotations of a prayer with lyrics that call out to the higher being. The concept of Sufism is brewed into an engaging song which wafts heavily through your body, infusing you while you take a sip of your fresh cup of coffee.
The ongoing euphoria of Coke Studio came tumbling down in its last season and Nescafe Basement did not waste a breath to swoop in and claim their spot; not only they scored full marks on production but they left no stone unturned when it came to talents and vocals either. Just after one season we could see this project is full of freshness, swage and style. Just like Coke studio this project has a popular brand name attached to it which adds more confidence and belief in the team members and attracts the audience too. The recently launched Nescafe basement caused an increase in the marketing budget day by day which is a sign of forum gaining interest.
Umar Faisal Khan from SEECS summarizes the whole situation wit fully by saying , “ Nescafe basement is like the ignored younger brother of coke studio, has a lot of potential but doesn’t really get any attention”
When we talk about young passionate singers of Pakistan like Hadiya Hashmi with her delightful expressions of power and 22 all kid band of “Pyar de gallan” beautifully composing songs that hit our emotions, we think about how Pakistan is blooming in adversity altogether whereas Coke studio focuses on mainstream figures like Momina Mustehsan ? what is that about ? This is a studio where you compose songs not a beauty competition ( which just by the way Nescafe is winning anyways I mean have you ever seen Hadiya’s adoring smile when she perfectly pulls of her vocals, I guess Coke Studio can’t relate. )
Haiqa Baig from SADA smirks as she says, “The somewhat ‘crush of Pakistan’ certainly crushed Ko Ko Korina,what a delight.”
Things became truly surreal when Pakistan’s Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari weighed in to describe it as a “massacre” of the classic song, questioning how producers had allowed this to happen. But oh well we can expect that from Coke Studio now. People are most excited about Hadiya Hashmi though. Some people are even calling her the next Abida Parveen.
When I first introduced the song Bol hu to my friend Aleena Qaiser from SADA she excitedly asks, “Aww how can one store such massive awaz in her” and honestly this question still triggers us. One thing is for sure, Hadiya Hashmi really does have the singing chops. We can’t wait to hear what this girl prodigy has for us next.
From giving us the timeless cover of “Do you love me again” to giving their own spin to classics the likes of Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s “Tere Jeya Hor Disdah” and Alan Faqir & Mohammad Ali Sheikhi’s “Tere Ishq Mein Jo Bhi”, the treasured show is back with a bang – this time with 73 very unique artists under their belt and a true promise of diversity.
It’s indeed a walk down memory lane with songs like Haroon Rashid’s “Mehbooba“ It’s infectious, almost laughter inducing. Honestly, my personal favorite too as it is the labor of love, the video shows how everyone involved seems to be having fun in recreating the Arabic infused melody unlike the overly expressed zoomed in videos of Ali Zafar and Momina Mustehsan , next thing we see is Danyal Zafar bulging in with his “talent”
Amil Taimour from S3H says while jamming to the song, “This song gives me a giddy feeling of joy and a solid reason to live HOW CATCHY”
Coke Studio’s only defense is “experienced” vocals are “better” vocals and young blood can never be able to portray music with depth. Goodluck with that claim Coke Studio, remember Nescafe Basement will keep on growing and incase if that stresses them out they should consider listening to “Ghorak Dhanda” that one really sooths your soul.
Ibrahim from SADA says, “Nescafe basement has increased its worth season by season, not only by learning from its own mistakes but also from coke studio’s mistakes. They have polished themselves well enough now to play with old songs and making new compositions”
Music is all about how it makes you feel, how you relate to it. Your voice becomes your expression and that is truly understood by the basement unlike the studio that overly dramatizes like Star Plus kai dramay due to the high budgets in hands. It’s not a film guys it’s a song.
* subtly sips in Nescafe ke coffee*
