Velo Sound Station season three looks like a cinematic dream. But can the music meet the visuals as Bilal Lashari sits in the director’s chair for the first time?
Velo Sound Station is coming back with its third season. This announcement arrived with a high-production trailer to set the tone. It demands our undivided attention and most likely put the biggest music show in Pakistan, Coke Studio, on notice.
The cinematic trailer should also put the collective film industry on notice. That’s because of the series of bad films we’ve had to digest and, in my case, forget in their entirety.
A round of applause must go to Bilal Lashari. His last project was The Legend of Maula Jatt—Pakistan’s biggest cinematic success to date. The film gave at least three Hindi films a run for their money. It still appears on local cinema screens during every holiday, including Eid and beyond.
The larger-than-life trailer of Velo Sound Station season three also reveals the strong line-up of artists that will feature in the upcoming third season.
These include Faris Shafi, Atif Aslam, Shae Gill, Abdul Hannan, Fawad Khan, Hasan Raheem, Adnan Dhool, Annural Khalid, Zain Zohaib, Young Stunners, Natasha Noorani and Risham Faiz Bhutta.
The late Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan will also be a part of the season. This means either one of his songs will be covered, or a song will be mixed with another. Alternatively, an entire NFAK song may be presented in his own voice, with its music video directed by Lashari. Any of the following scenarios is a possibility.
But here’s a problem, which will only be resolved once the entire season has been released.
Like previous seasons—especially the debut season spearheaded by Bilal Maqsood—there needs to be a balanced integration between the audio and video departments. Right now, the visuals look so spectacular that my fear is, the music will play a secondary role.
For any music show, the music must shine first. This is true whether the show has corporate sponsorship like Velo Sound Station, or an older and varied counterpart like Coke Studio, or even an independent music series. You must go down the rabbit hole of music to discover what exists now. Many shows have come and gone—each with its own identity and set of artists.
Should the music underwhelm, the show will work in the short term, but it will have no value in the long run.
From its first season, Velo Sound Station has always mixed pop music with brilliant visuals. Every season has been directed or co-directed by a filmmaker. In season one, it was Yasir Jaswal who co-directed the debut season with its founder and executive producer, Bilal Maqsood. In season two, the responsibility fell on the shoulders of seasoned directors Kamal Khan and Zeeshan Parwez.
Both have directed a variety of projects, including Coke Studio (under the aegis of Rohail Hyatt and Xulfi). Kamal Khan also directed the critically acclaimed film Laal Kabootar, while Zeeshan Parwez has directed plenty of music videos and other projects.
Getting Bilal Lashari on board is a sign that Velo Sound Station is willing to go the extra mile. They’re working with a director who has proven his credentials in both music videos and films.
However, while Lashari is new to the project, the artist roster features eighty per cent of names who have appeared on the show before. Some of them have delivered fantastic work in the past. So now, it is a question of surpassing those past efforts. The real question is how many can achieve that. At least one name, like Young Stunners, is suffering from a case of overexposure. You can’t avoid them unless you go on a digital detox altogether.
We also need to see if Velo Sound Station season three can put together collaborations that work. Not all artists gel with others, and that was true for Velo Sound Station’s last season. Coke Studio is another example where collaborations have gone wrong in the past.
There is also the issue of gender disparity among artists. While this issue has improved compared to previous years, there is still an imbalance. The current ratio of 8:4 (male to female) should be brought closer to 6:6 or 7:5. The more women are represented in all spaces, the better for us as an industry and as a nation
Many questions remain unanswered. Some will be answered in time. If the music is as good as the videos, this season might be the curveball that forces Coke Studio to rethink its goals.
Fifteen years is a long time. Alternatively, it might inspire Coke Studio to find a new way of integrating each song. This could mean merging the ideas that made Coke Studio season 14 such a success and season 15 such a disappointment.
Velo Sound Station season three has brought the best director in the country, along with some of the most popular artists of our time. So, the onus is on them to deliver music that will astonish us. It should make us think, dance, and find a permanent place within our hearts. Anything less than that will be an unsatisfactory journey.
Whether Lashari can elevate the sound without overpowering it with his visual flair is yet to be seen. The promise of innovation lingers in the air, but promises alone will not suffice. With a stage this grand and an audience this eager, the stakes are greater than ever.
One hopes Velo Sound Station has something that lives beyond the moment.
Footnote: This story was written before the first song from Velo Sound Station 3 premiered.
