The Inception of Coke Studio

Coke Studio is one of the most sought after music series on television featuring studio-recorded live performances by different artists. The series was produced originally by Rohail Hyatt till season 6, but the season following those are produced by the renowned Pakistani band Strings. Over the years, this music series has been acknowledged nationally as well as internationally for the revival of classical and other genres of Pakistani musical masterpieces. Where some seasons produced by Rohail Hyatt like season 4 met with a lot of criticism, the season 7 brought a significant change in the opinion of the audience but the latest season 8 kicked off on a positive note.

Coke Studio Season 8- The Sound of Nation

The first episode of Coke Studio season 8 premiered on 16^th August, 2015, and subsequently a weekly episode was aired every Sunday on various channels across Pakistan, till its finale on 4^th October 2015. For this season the tagline “The Sound of Nation” was incorporated. The debut producer of season 7, Strings, pursued the journey of production in season 8 too. This season features a total of 7 episodes consisting of 28 songs, 32 artists and 13 musicians.

Featured Artists of Coke Studio Season 8

A total of 32 artists participated in season 8 together with 6 brands performing duos, singles along with choruses.

• Ali Azmat
• Ali Haider
• Ali Sethi
• Arif Lohar
• Asim Azhar
• Atif Aslam
• Alycia Dias
• Bakshi Brothers
• Farida Khanum
• Fizza Javed
• Gul Panra
• Kavish
• Karam Abbas Khan
• Malang Party
• Mauzzam & Rizwan
• Mekaal Hasan Band
• Mai Dhai
• Mulazim Hussain
• Nafees Ahmed
• Nabeel Shaukat Ali
• Qurratulain Baloch
• Samra Khan
• Sara Raza Khan
• Sara Haider
• Siege
• Shazia Manzoor
• Shehroze Hussan
• Surriya Khanum
• Ustad Hamid Ali Khan
• Umair Jaswal

Vocal Harmony by Backing Vocalists

The leading top vocalists of coke studio season 8 were:

1. Momina Durrani
2. Rachel Viccaji
3. Sara Haider

House Band Musicians of Coke Studio Season 8

The following house band musicians participated in this season:

1. Aahad Nayani on Drums
2. Babar Ali Khanna on Dholak & Tabla
3. Haider Ali on Keyboard
4. Jaffer Ali Zaidi on Synth & Piano
5. Khalid Khan on Bass
6. Omran Shafique & Imran Akhoond on Guitars

Guest Appearances for Coke Studio Season 8

There were some guest appearances from different musicians like:

1. Arsalan Ali
2. Sajjad Ali
3. Tanver Tafu

The Strings Team

The following musicians constituted the strings team with Faisal and Bilal:

1. Islamuddin Meer
2. Javed Iqbal
3. Manzoor Ahmed
4. Saeed Ahmed

Top Songs of Coke Studio Season 8

• Taking the coke studio season 8 by storm was the enthralling performance of Atif Aslam on Tajdar-e-Haram, paying tribute to the legendary Sabri Brothers.
• Giving a new life to the Punjabi folk songs, Sammi Meri Waar by Quratulain Baloch and Uzair Jaswal was another popular number.
• Atif Aslam and Gul Panrra’s Man Aamdeh Am was amongst the most viewed songs on social media.
• The debut performance of Ali Zafar on his original song, Rockstar, made it to the top lists of the music industry too.
• Farida Khanum, the Queen of Ghazal singing, mesmerized everyone through her performance on Aj Jaanay Ki Zid Na Karoo.
• Other songs like Chirya da Chamba by Anwar Maqsood and Surayya Khanum touched the sentiments of many.

The Success of Season 8

Season 8 was no doubt a revolution in the history of coke studio. It proved to be one of the most socially viral seasons till date with a long list of amazing originals, covers and best songs ever produced in Coke Studio. By delivering quality music, this season was able to impress all the critics of previous seasons.

International Fame of Coke Studio Season 8

Not only was season 8 highly appreciated in Pakistan, but it received a great response internationally. The fact that the music industry of Pakistan is unmatchable was accepted across borders as well. The mesmerizing voices behind season 8 won the hearts of coke studio fans across the globe. With the increasing expectations of people for the next seasons, Strings vows to keep up with their endeavors in making the forthcoming seasons bigger and better.

Coke Studio season 8 has raised the bar of the music industry of Pakistan with a number of songs making it up to newspaper and magazine headlines. With the versatility offered in this season, the fans of coke studio hope for a continuous up lift in all music genres of Pakistan.