Mariam Nihal
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — Face it. Coke Studio “Bel 3arabi” (in Arabic) is not what you hoped for. It seems like a drifter who is desperately trying to fit in. There is nothing fresh, stimulating or anything close to the Coke Studio spirit worldwide. For a show that has the potential to be a national favorite, has Coke failed its Arabic version miserably?
“They killed the spirit but arranged an incredible celebrity line up for mourning the loss of its soul,” said Marwa Ibrahim, a 25-year-old Saudi student based in Jeddah. Well that is debatable now, because this season, they finally added new music in the line-up. After two whole seasons, we are so glad someone finally realized this was important. Besides, why were we doing fusions, remixes and furthermore damage to something as sacred as art?
“Initially one would assume, whoever choose the artists, music and pretty much everything wrong with the show, could only hold the format as culprit,” Amir Abbas, a 30-year-old Pakistani engineer in Riyadh told Saudi Gazette. But as passionate as this is as a cry to the Coke Studio producers, we always look to the other side for answers. This allows us more credibility and a chance to appeal for better taste, hoping it shall prevail.
We looked for answers and got in touch with Universal Music in Dubai - the real organizers of Coke Studio for those who don’t know.
“The music producer along with Universal Music MENA work together in choosing songs and producing singles that fit each artist and each duet, suited for their specific voice and musical style,” the Universal team told Saudi Gazette. Two seasons later: “This new season moves away from the previous structure of creating fusions between Arab and Western artists, and brings together Arab superstars to celebrate culture and tradition through music from across the Arab world. We are producing new songs that embody the diverse styles of Arabic music,” they further added.
There are eight newly produced Arabic original fusion songs. Hadii Sharara, is the producer for the third time in a row. The Lebanese composer is known to have worked with some of the biggest names in the Arab world. Again, a name that could have produced for potential stars of tomorrow and not just the same family of celebrities. There have been great examples of such producers like Rohail Hyatt who recently stepped down from Coke Studio Pakistan and Strings who successfully followed up with a sensational season seven. They created phenomenal hits with known and new names, be it with originals or renditions. Or look at Coke Studio India, where each episode features a music composer with his own composed tracks.
“Coke Studio Africa had producers across East and West Africa come together to create music every week with different artists. From a brand like Coke Studio, you expect the set standard quality and that is perhaps what is missing in the Middle East version,” said Arwa Idrees, a 23-year-old Nigerian student living in Abu Dhabi.
Each Coke Studio has had its share of stars from A R Rahman (India), Atif Aslam (Pakistan), Flavour (Nigeria), Kimani (Kenya) among others who have performed with various producers for stellar performances.
Coke studio in other parts of the world use renditions of and also include the older and refined musicians in their countries in a way that elevates the stance of music and not the other way around.
Then why do people watch it?
“They don’t have a choice or an alternative. This goes back to tastemakers in the region. Who are they and why have they been giving us recycled content over the years?” asked Saif Ahmed, a 28-year-old marketing manager living in Riyadh. When taste hasn’t evolved, shows like this will seem to be popular when in reality they devalue the minds of listeners. Education helps people think better, how else will they know better? Same goes with music.
Coke Studio Worldwide
Coke studio is known to identify, support and nourish brand new artists or bands by giving them justified and equal airtime as any other celebrity on the show. Another Coke Studio fan, Zainab Khan, a 32-year-old Indian teacher living in Bahrain said: “In fact Coke Studio is the only platform commended for supporting local musicians helping bands collaborate with the biggest names for performances on the show.
Have you heard of new bands or music producers from the Middle East being chosen for any of the seasons? So if none of this is part of Coke Studio - why are we calling it by that name?”
Don’t jump to conclusions, you can hang out with the hosts - who get more airtime than music, as they munch on popcorn and discuss trivialities which apparently matter more than music and enjoy glamorous appearances on the show. At least there’s star power; this year’s line-up includes Ramy Ayach, Amina, Amal Maher, Wael Jassar, Balqees, Ramy Sabry, Maya Diab and Bahaa Sultan. But let us remember: Coke studio is a celebration and discovery of sound. Everything else is secondary.
- Catch Coke Studio at 9 pm on MBC4. The episodes are available on Apple music, iTunes, Anghami and the videos are up on the Coke Studio YouTube channel.
