Celebrating Coke Studio’s decade of music | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Celebrating Coke Studio’s decade of music

Pakistan Press Foundation

Having released two previous editions of the Coke Studio Coffee-Table Book, Coca-Cola Pakistan is back with the third and perhaps the most definitive edition. The coffee table book, designed with beautiful aesthetic, is not just a great collector’s edition but is for anyone interested in music, the ethos of the show, its evolution and what it means for us as people.

It provides context and pays an ode to the producers, the artists and also remembers those who are no longer with us but had contributed to the show in one capacity or another including the likes of Aamir Zaki, Ustaad Raees Khan and Amjad Sabri.

This edition is a little special than its predecessors because it covers the entire ten-year long journey of Coke Studio, the music series that arrived in the summer of 2008 and broke geo-political barriers, reminded people to take ownership of this region’s history, sound, rhythm, cultures and collected more than a billion hits while taking a stagnant (at the time) music industry forward.

The book is conceptually developed and directed by Markings, the three-time Gourmand Award winning publishing house who also backed the earlier editions.

The latest edition, a limited release, features essays, illustrations, photography and more. It contains feature essays from Nadeem F. Paracha, Fifi Haroon, Rakae Jamil and Sultan Arshad Khan and photography by Adeela Badshah, Insiya Syed, Kohi Marri, Rizwan-ul-Haq, Amna Zuberi and Shahrukh Khurshid.

The text featured, beyond the essays, is well-researched while the gorgeous photography, taken from the past ten seasons as well as newly created ones, reflects on the strong design value, creativity and heart that has gone both into this book and the show as a whole.

Noted an excerpt from the book: “With roots free of borders and dating back centuries, we are our own creators and deliverers of rhythm and rhyme. We have a separate story to tell, and only we have the rights to it. We are a proud Coke Studio nation. We are Pakistan. And with this book we celebrate these 10 glorious years.”

Speaking on the launch of the book, Mr. Rizwan U. Khan, Coca Cola General Manager, Pakistan & Afghanistan Region, noted, “This book is not only an important archival documentation of the scale and breath and impact of Coke Studio but a celebration of its decade strong legacy. A legacy which has embraced and promoted Pakistan’s rich, vibrant and diverse culture. That has helped shaped a new narrative within and externally. Through these ten years, Coke Studio has grown to be regarded as the Sound of the Nation, revered all over the globe. This book is a manifestation of our affirmation to keep bringing a sense of pride to Pakistan through the representation it truly deserves.”

The book release, even as a limited edition, is well-timed with Coke Studio 11 on the horizon, which is being produced by Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi.

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