Guitarist Omran Shafique on Coke Studio Pakistan: 'It revived a deflated Pakistani music industry'

My introduction to Coke Studio Pakistan was on a rainy Kolkata afternoon, with an alchemical rendition of Raag Bageshree, as Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad performed the brilliant ‘Khabaram Raseeda Imshaab’ on the show’s fifth season. Coke Studio Pakistan has immeasurably enriched my life in the years since, as well as that of thousands of music lovers.

The show is back for a grand season 10, and has an unprecedented nine producers this time, including Strings, Salman Ahmad (Junoon), Ali Hamza (Noori), and Mekal Hasan (Mekal Hasan Band), who will feature tributes, covers and original tracks including the 1997 Sufi-Rock phenomenon ‘Sayyonee’ (Junoon); qawwalis including ‘Dum-a-Dum Mast Qalandar’ as a tribute to Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s musical haziri in honour of the Sufi saint Lal Qalandar of Sehwan Sharif. Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ‘Bol Ke Lab Azad Hai’ featuring Shafqat Amanat Ali, and ‘Ranjish Hi Sahi’ featuring Ali Sethi, in memory of Mehdi Hasan, are other compositions to look forward to in Season 10.

The story of Coke Studio Pakistan is one of making music, ahead and un-seconded of its time. It is a story of taal, leh and bandish. Of harmony, fusion, and rhythm. Of delivering an unparalleled fusion of traditional and commercial music genres with untiring brilliance.

Omran Shafique has been the reigning star guitarist and a member of the house band on Coke Studio Pakistan. He spoke with us about the show’s stellar 10th season. Edited excerpts follow:

Tell us about your association with Coke Studio Pakistan (CSP).

It’s been 10 years, on and off.  When it started off we had no idea it was going to get this ubiquitous.  Just a small music programme…things have certainly changed from the early days.  I’m not going to blindly praise it though…it has done a lot of good, and has had its pitfalls as well.  In my case, however, I may have moved back to the US had it not been for Coke Studio. It certainly revived a deflated Pakistani music industry.

Considering you have been a constant through all ten seasons of the show, what has the CSP evolution been like?

How weird it is, to hear it called CSP! It’s just Coke Studio to me. Well, I am wary of calling any development in music an “evolution”.  It certainly develops, not necessarily forward, and not necessarily backward.  Many people have considered the development of modern pop music a devolution!

Rohail (Hyatt, who helped found Coke Studio Pakistan)  pretty much laid down the foundation and now the machine is well-oiled and slick.  There was a sense of adventure in the early days…I would say that was gone a few years into it and now we swim in mostly charted territory.  There is still quality stuff now of course, but we aren’t breaking any new musical barriers.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of being a house band member with CSP?

It’s a weird and wonderful mix of technical geniuses and goofy oddballs and serious pros and new and young and old and weary…a motley crew.  It’s changed over the years, but the passion has been consistent.  I keep explaining to people what an immense task it is, not just for the house band — it’s the whole team — to come together and work on 30 songs year after year. That’s three albums’ worth (of music). Rehearse for a few months and shoot in about a week… in 10 years, we have pumped out about 30 albums’ worth of material. Good or bad, that is a frenetic pace for anyone. So people have come and gone. But for me, it was a supreme introduction into my own country’s musical heritage.  A heritage that I was not well-versed in. I have come to a deep respect and admiration for sub-continental music thanks to Coke Studio.

How has the working aesthetic changed since Rohail Hyatt stepped down as producer on Coke Studio?

Rohail was all about keeping things loose…we had bare structures and mostly worked within those areas. The singers would often sing in their own structure as they were feeling it. The house band would follow. With the Strings, it is much more regimented. Every song has charts. In the five seasons with Rohail, we wrote down the chord sheets for one song, “Mori Araj Suno” with Tina Sani.  Now, we have a longer rehearsal schedule and the music is much more orchestrated. This last season especially, the 10th, was a killer. We were zonked out by the end of it.

Do you think one can equate brand CSP with brand Rohail Hyatt?

Well, he is the original. The man who orchestrated and laid the foundation.  And now there are people building on that foundation.  I give Rohail massive amounts of credit, I don’t think anyone else could have pulled off five seasons the way he did.  But CS carries on…I think Rohail is still very much the spiritual advisor on the show. We are carrying on with that vision.

What do you think of our Coke Studio India productions?

It’s astounding really. I have really enjoyed some of the CSI music.  I think it had a bad rap at the beginning…just hard to compare to CSP as it was already quite established, but as the seasons went on, I thought it was quite remarkable.

What makes CSP more alluring than CSI? 

Mostly I think it was the roughness of the Pakistani CS that felt more authentic, maybe? More earthy? More from the soil?  Too much polish kills the vibe.

Coke Studio has made a pioneering intervention in re-popularising the Sufi-Folk sounds of South Asia…

It happened with me. The firangi style young generation into pop and rock music all of a sudden found new heroes in Qawwali and Folk music. It happened before as well, for me it was Junoon. Before that it was Vital Signs. Recently I’ve been discovering ’70s Lollywood — mind blowing! Madam Noor Jehan and Sir Tufail Niazi have blown my mind recently. That’s why I hate calling it an evolution. There are so many amazing artists from our past, it’s never-ending really. Each generation has to first figure out its own identity and then learn and appreciate the generations before, otherwise we are just reinventing the wheel constantly. I’m glad CS was able to do that… I’m glad I played a small part in it.

CSP has produced some of the most infectious renditions of classical Qawwalis. Please tell us about your experience in producing and performing these.

With the Qawwalis, I think I have been the closest to feeling the spiritual elevation that people often talk about…haal. It is hard to recreate that feeling on a set with lights and lots of cameras and retakes. But working with masters like Fareed Ayaz, Abid Ji, Rahat Fateh Ali, once you let these guys loose, I stop worrying about what I am playing. It’s hard not to get swept up. ‘Khabaram Raseeda’, that really was a spiritual experience… it’s still my favorite.

Which are your 10 favourite compositions from Coke Studio?

In no particular order:

‘ Mori Araj Suno ’ — Tina Sani

‘ Khabaram ’ — Fareed Ayaz

‘ Kangna ’ — Fareed Ayaz

‘ Hor Vi Neeva ’ — Noori

' _ Charkha Nau Lakha ’_ — Atif and Qayaas

‘ Tajdar-e-Haram ’ — Atif Aslam

‘ Aamay Bhashaili ’ — Alam Gir and FarihaPervaiz

‘ Garaj Baras ’ — Ali Azmat and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

‘ Chori Chori' — Meesha

‘ Bewaja ’ — Nabeel Shaukat

What do you treasure or enjoy the most as being a member of the house band on the show?

It’s not what I’ve experienced personally. What really warms my heart is when people tell me stories of how the show has affected them directly. I know a couple who met online, from enemy states that fell in love…over this show. The guy wrote to me, and said it was Coke Studio that bound them. They eventually found a way to be together and he just wanted to thank us. Affecting people in such positive ways…I would never have hoped or imagined…it’s humbling. The way Pakistanis swell with pride when Coke Studio is mentioned. The way people from all over have embraced it and its message. We are many faces and many voices and we are all singing about how we are all one.

Is corporate funding the only way forward for sustaining diversity and fearlessness to experiment and to sustain indigenous music in Pakistan?

No, corporate funding is not the only way forward — it’s one way forward. That line of thinking is a distinct negative that has come about from the CS phenomena. For the most part, corporate funding rarely ever leads to diversity or fearlessness to experiment. It’s usually the opposite. It all came together with CS…but that is the exception rather than the rule, and even CS suffers from corporatism at times. As long as we are willing to believe in our musical heritage and also understand our modern times, indigenous music will survive.

What Bollywood is to India, Coke Studio Pakistan is to Pakistan. Would you agree?

Possibly…in that everyone seems to think it is the golden ticket. Although it doesn’t turn out that way for everyone. And it casts a long shadow for good and for bad. It is the biggest cultural export.

On a side note, what may one expect from master guitarist Omran Shafique in the coming months?

I’m currently working with some new artists.  Working with Shaan on his re-envisioning of “Arth”. Working with CTO, and also lining up potential projects as I go along. There is always talk of returning to Mauj…one of these days.

The writer is a Research Scholar at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her research interests include Sufism and contemporary film, media and sound culture in South Asia.