Get the ringside view of a live music recording

We stopped by the set of coke studio@mtv to get a feel of what's in store for music lovers in June. The Show, which enters its fourth season in Pakistan, will feature music collaborations between known and less known artistes

Get the ringside view of a live music recording

We stopped by the set of coke studio@mtv to get a feel of what's in store for music lovers in June. The Show, which enters its fourth season in Pakistan, will feature music collaborations between known and less known artistes

It's the penultimate day of the shoot and tempers are getting frayed. But somehow there is still lightness in the air, which must have to do with the power of music: the balm that soothes the most jangled of nerves. We are at Cherish Studios in the suburb of Malad, Mumbai, where the crew is shooting a host of musicians for the debut episode of Coke studio@mtv.

"I haven't slept a wink in 40 days," shares musician Leslie Lewis, who will compose one song for each of the eight hour-long episodes, featuring four or five singers, per episode. The show will feature popular Bollywood numbers to folk songs, ghazals and even qawwalis. Says Hashim Sabri of Sabri Brothers, "Qawwali has been given a different feel. We have given the song Humein To Loot Liya Milke Husn Walon Ne a new sound." Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, aka KK, who recorded Tu Aashiqui

Hai, and has collaborated with the Sabri Brothers on Chadta Suraj Dheere Dheere Dhal Jayega, says, "The brief given to me was, 'Do your take of the song'." Producers of the show advocate the "Bollywood sells" argument to purists worrying about whether commercial numbers will spoil the essence of the show. Lewis argues, "If it was purely Bollywood, there's no way I would be involved with the show. But if there is one Bollywood song out of 50, then what's the big deal?" So what then is the content of the show? "Old Bollywood numbers reinterpreted, old folk songs and qawwalis featuring different artistes from the original. We have changed the feel of the songs without changing their soul," elaborates Lewis.

Motley crew
By extension, the show will bring together an eclectic mix of artistes. So you have Sunidhi Chauhan, known for her sassy item numbers, collaborating with qawwali singers Sabri Brothers, and Raghu Dixit, who is known for his folk-rock tunes, as well as 'Bihu specialist' Khagen Gogoi.

There are approximately 50 songs that will be sung by 47 singers in languages including Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali, Assamese and Marathi. There will also be two episodes, featuring the best of the series, which will be decided by Lewis and the channel. From known faces to less known ones, the show is an attempt to bring singers "out of their comfort zone".

KK agrees. "I have never done anything like this before," says the singer, who admits to not having heard of the series, which features live music performances, prior to his involvement on the show. So what brings the show to India? "We want to introduce the youth to different kinds of music, something that they haven't heard of on a known platform," says Aditya Swami, Channel Head, MTV India.

Coke Studio@MTV airs on
Friday, June 17.