Coke Studio now in a minicert

Catch artists Papon, Mathangi, Tochi Raina and Sanjeev T bring the fusion filled jam session from the studio on to a city stage

Coke Studio now in a minicert

Catch artists Papon, Mathangi, Tochi Raina and Sanjeev T bring the fusion filled jam session from the studio on to a city stage

Coke Studio fans can put the remote controls aside today and head to the live version instead that's taking place in a minicert format. Catch a live jam with some original music and folk sound brought to you by a bunch of talented musicians. The minicert will feature Papon, who hails from Assam and owns a band called East India Company, Tochi Raina, a Sufi musician from Bihar, Mathangi, a trained classical singer from Delhi and Sanjeev T, guitarist and singer who accompanied AR Rahman on Ghajini, Delhi-6 and Raavan.

Besides the performing artists featured in the Coke Studio teleserial, the minicert will see some additions and a few changes.

"Since all those who are part of the studio episode will not be present, the songs will be shared amongst us and the live performance will bring its own surprises. There will be more impromptu jamming than that in the recorded shows.

I will sing my original song, Indian Jadoo, with English lyrics intact, something that was prevented in the aired episodes. Also, Mathangi will perform singer Chinna Ponnu's tracks and that will bring out a never performed before version," he adds.

Despite the criticism received due to comparisons with itsu00a0 Pakistani counterpart, Coke Studio India has created quite a stir amongst tellywatchers. "Most of the criticism comes from the fact that there is a lot of Bollywood going into Coke Studio. This is primarily because of the involvement of a channel and the fact that we are playing to a primarily Bollywood audience. It works like that with almost any music project like rock bands start with playing covers and then move on to originals. It might move onto less commercial music minus Bollywood in the coming seasons," says Sanjeev. "Besides the songs in the Pakistani version are predominantly Sufi, which, when paired with contemporary music, goes well. It is a tried and tested formula. In India, with so many genres and so much indigenous music, it is a much bigger challenge," he adds.

The odds aside, Coke Studio did open up a stage for independent artists, bringing in a sea change in music watching trends. "It has been a great experience to work on such a platform. I had great fun doing the show. Papon is a cool guy. The idea works as it is a big step in bringing live music to a national platform.u00a0 It has great value for independent artists. Television is finally doing what it is supposed to do," says Sanjeev.