Radiance All Over With Coke Studio 3

Published on www.koolmuzone.com, on 11th June, 2010, under Features Category

The coke studio season 3 is all in the air and a hot topic these days. The exciting season marks with Noori, Meesha Shafi, Karavan, Arif Lohar, Arieb Azhar, Abida Parveen, Zeb & Haniya, Saba Shabbir, Zoe Viccaji, and Sanam Saeed. Sanam and Zoe could be seen as the backing vocalists this time. Abida Parveen outshines the show with her mystical and deeply enriched style in “Ramooz-e-Ishq”. One cannot comment or critique on her performance and chic. She sounds miraculous every time. Simply don’t have words for it.  Zeb & Haniya steal the show with their highly applaudable “Bibi Sanam”, with Dari origin and saccharine Dari accent. After Pichal Pairee, one comes to realize this time the dominant vocals of Meesha in “Alif Allah”. Arieb Azhar has been able to envoke the original style with and sounds a bit extra this time with his cavernous, touching and poignant style. The magic of Abida Parveen and richness of Zeb & Haniya truly make the show magnificent. Karavan makes the show radiant with beautiful songs from their rocking album “Saara Jahan”. Asad Ahmed, whose marvelous music surpassed the act outstandingly, shared very blissfully,

“The coke studio sessions presented us with an opportunity to do some songs from the new album in an acoustic setting as opposed to the regular ROCK shows that we are famous for.In essence it made us rely on our songs rather than the sheer pandemonium that is a Karavan concert. Plus I think it’s kind of cool to appeal to a larger audience with songs like “Yaadein’ and “Kaisay Mumkin Hai”. I also must give props to the members of the house band as well as the girls on backing vocals they were all stellar. All in all is a great experience.”

Arieb Azhar who appeared in the first episode of Season 3 shared his views,

“Coke Studio – Season 3 has outdone itself. Even in the previous CS projects the level of professionalism was unparalleled in Pakistan, but this time, I feel, the content also is stronger and more rooted than before. This time it was an honor for me to perform alongside musicians, many of whom have been inspirations for me in my personal musical journey.”

It’s just a start of an expedition. There is still more to come. The episode 2 would air on 20thf June with EP, Zeb & Haniya, Noori, Amanat Ali, Fakir Juman Shah and Rizwan Muazzam. Stay tuned to it everyone, especially CS fans.

Pichal Pairee: Album Review

 

 

It was a usual routine and hectic day with lots of work and writing. I had just finished downloading Overload Pichal Pairee and was listening to the first track. Suddenly my mother entered the study and asked me, “What kind of music is this?” before I could explain the music genre to her, she ejaculated, and “It is really a master-piece work, though I know little about music. From my childhood, I have been listening to 60’s and 70’s tracks. I can say that this is a dazzling piece of work.”

 

I listened to all the tracks charily, after she left the room. “Mom is right, indeed”, I thought. The album title seemed appealing to me, though, I have modest knowledge of Punjabi vocabulary, but still it is beguiling. The title name usually creates a horror sensation, but it has nothing to do with it. Before listening to the songs, I had a misconception of songs portraying some horror like atmosphere like BSB’s “Everybody”, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Hadiqa’s “Mahi”. I initially assumed Pichal Pairee to be a finicky fusion of horror and rock. After listening to the songs, my assumption altered, since the composition and lyrics have nothing to do with the ingredient of horror. The album is an apt permutation of swinging moods and melodies. The instrumental and psychedelic genre of music makes it a mesmerizing sensation. The album comprises tracks like “Dig”, “Saat Mein”,”Vichar Gai”, ‘Pichal Pairee”, “Amjad Khan”, “One Mile High”, “Kaykra”, “Mela Kariye”, and “Dhol Bajay Ga”. Apart from the alluring effort of Meesha, Farhad, Sheraz and Mahmood, some additional folks like Nasir Sain, Shahryar Jabbar, Ustad Allah Loke and Jaffer Hussian have also marvelously contributed. Meesha’s transition from a model to singer is fascinating; she has truly inherited the talent and intellect from her mother, Saba Hameed.

After a long hiatus, Overload has sustained its unique genre of rock in Pichal Pairee. It is an experimental oeuvre attempt. “Dhol Baje Ga” is a predominant delightful and slightly clamorous track, with vibrant vocals. The drums and bass beat are highly invigorating in the track, though the vocals are a bit strident. “Amjad Khan” starts with a very soft and rhythmic tone, but loses its way afterwards, but still it is a vibrant track. “Pichal Pairee” sounds a bit mystifying and reverberated, and unfortunately the most meager composition. “A Thousand Miracles” starts with a soft melodious tone, and continues its mellow status, though the closure is not that malleable as it is in the beginning. “Vichar Gai” is indeed the most influential and most exotic song, with Punjabi lyrics. The ravishing beat is intriguingly portentous, with heavy drums and conventional base. “Mela Kariye” is a traditional track, with ordinary melody, and doesn’t evoke a commotion like other tracks. In fact it doesn’t prove to be a touching folk melody, though the traditional dhol and drumming makes it a bit customary. “Kaykra” is a bit speedy and riveting, whereas “Saat Mein” is very catchy in terms of beat and tune, miraculously depicts Ustad Allah Loke mode, with conventional bass held somewhat in the middle of the track.

After seeing the video, a petite Meesha with a striking face and Amy Winehouse looks, rocks on vocals. The video reflected nothing about a Pichal Pairee, but it looked more like a rock star’s emblematic performance. Even Meesha’s makeover has been brilliantly done by Shehzad Raza, but one is unable to find any component of Pichal Pairee (one with twisted feet) in the video. I was expecting a typical ghost like makeover, costume and ambiance, before watching the video. However, the makeover, outfits and set could have been more dramatic. Even no horror- like milieu was justly rendered in the video. It could have been shot while keeping an archetypal Pichal Pairee in mind. Nevertheless, all the band people look absolutely stunning in the video.

Pichal Pairee is and inimitable and experimental piece of work by Overload, brilliantly produced by Farhad. The album is titled in Punjabi, but it is contains some English lyrics as well. The album tracks are vividly mastered by legendary Shahzad “Shahi” Hasan. It is indeed one of the most prolific works of Shahi, who happens to be the one of the most ingenious music producers. His master mind and perfectionism adds evocative splendor to the album. The album is truly a flamboyant and glitzy piece of work.