Coke Studio Pakistan: How Every Producer Changed the Sound of Pakistan

Coke Studio Pakistan started in 2008 with a simple but powerful idea: bring Pakistani musicians, genres and generations together in one musical space.

Almost two decades later, Coke Studio has become much bigger than a television music show. It has become one of Pakistan's most recognizable cultural exports, with its music reaching audiences around the world. Coca-Cola says the platform has now produced 15 seasons and nearly 350 musical releases, with its music reaching audiences in more than 180 countries.

But Coke Studio never had one permanent sound.

Its identity changed every time a new creative team took control. Rohail Hyatt built the foundation, Strings expanded the mainstream appeal, Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi explored Pakistan's regional sounds, Rohail Hyatt returned with another interpretation of the format, and Xulfi transformed it for the streaming generation.

So, how did each producer change Coke Studio — and what did Pakistani music gain or lose along the way?

Rohail Hyatt — Seasons 1–6: Building the Coke Studio Sound

The story of Coke Studio Pakistan begins with Rohail Hyatt, who produced the first six seasons.

Hyatt's greatest contribution was not simply producing individual hit songs. He helped establish the Coke Studio sound itself: traditional Pakistani music placed alongside modern rock, pop, electronic and Western instrumentation.

The concept brought together artists from very different musical backgrounds. Classical and folk singers could suddenly appear alongside contemporary musicians, creating collaborations that were unusual for mainstream Pakistani television.

What changed?

Before Coke Studio, Pakistani music was often separated into different worlds — pop, classical, qawwali, folk and rock.

Coke Studio began putting those worlds in the same room.

That was perhaps Hyatt's biggest achievement.

The result was a format in which an artist such as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan could exist alongside contemporary musicians without either side completely abandoning its identity.

The positive effect

Hyatt made musical fusion commercially interesting.

He also helped bring traditional instruments and older musical traditions to younger audiences. Instead of presenting folk and classical music as something belonging only to previous generations, Coke Studio gave them modern production and a contemporary platform.

The downside

The same fusion formula could also become heavy and highly produced. As Coke Studio became successful, audiences began developing expectations about what a "Coke Studio song" was supposed to sound like.

That created a challenge for future producers: how do you evolve Coke Studio without destroying what made it recognizable?

Strings — Seasons 7–10: Taking Coke Studio to the Mainstream

After six seasons, Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia of Strings took over as producers.

This was an important transition.

The Strings era did not completely abandon the original Coke Studio philosophy. Instead, it made the format more accessible, polished and mainstream.

The result was a Coke Studio that increasingly felt like a national music event rather than simply an experimental studio project.

What did Strings change?

The duo brought their own experience as successful pop musicians into the production process.

The music became highly polished, collaborations became an even bigger part of the show's identity, and Coke Studio increasingly became a platform where established stars could meet younger or less conventional voices.

By this point, Coke Studio was no longer an experiment.

It had become an institution.

The positive effect

Strings helped make Coke Studio mainstream without completely abandoning Pakistani folk, classical and Sufi music.

This was important because a music platform cannot influence culture if people are not listening to it.

The format reached a huge audience and created songs that became part of everyday Pakistani musical culture.

The downside

Success brought its own problem.

Once audiences became familiar with the Coke Studio formula, experimentation could sometimes feel less radical than it had during the early Rohail Hyatt years.

There was also increasing discussion about whether Coke Studio was becoming too polished or commercial.

In other words, Coke Studio had successfully become mainstream — but now it needed another reinvention.

Ali Hamza & Zohaib Kazi — Season 11: Coke Studio Leaves the Studio

Season 11 was perhaps the most unusual transition in Coke Studio's history.

Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi became the producers, and instead of simply continuing the existing formula, they attempted to expand the definition of what Coke Studio could be.

Their most important experiment was Coke Studio Explorer.

The producers travelled across Pakistan looking for musicians, regional sounds and stories. They recorded artists in places such as Chitral, Sindh and Punjab rather than bringing every musical experience into the familiar Coke Studio environment.

Kazi explained at the time that their emphasis was on storytelling and regional musicians, while Hamza described their goal as giving artists the freedom to explore.

Why was this important?

Because Pakistan does not have one musical identity.

It has Punjabi folk, Sindhi devotional music, Pashto traditions, Balochi music, Kashmiri sounds, Kalash traditions and countless local forms that rarely receive national exposure.

Explorer attempted to bring some of that diversity to the mainstream.

One episode, for example, introduced audiences to Kalash musicians Ariana and Amrina in Chitral. Other episodes explored Sindhi and Punjabi musicians in their own environments.

The positive effect

Season 11 proved that Coke Studio could be more than a studio.

It could become a musical documentary of Pakistan.

It also gave greater visibility to artists who were not already household names.

The downside

The experiment was not universally received as a seamless success.

Contemporary criticism pointed to inexperience and some production mistakes, although the same critics acknowledged that the producers were taking risks and bringing a fresh perspective.

That is an important distinction.

Season 11 was not necessarily successful because everything worked.

It was important because Coke Studio was willing to take the risk.

Rohail Hyatt Returns — Seasons 12–13

After Season 11, Rohail Hyatt returned to Coke Studio.

This was interesting because the platform had already changed considerably since his first era.

His return therefore was not simply a trip back to Season 1.

Coke Studio had become a much larger cultural platform, while digital streaming and social media had changed how people discovered music.

Hyatt's second era placed renewed emphasis on musical depth, original compositions, eastern instruments and a more intimate relationship between musicians and production.

The positive effect

His return reminded audiences of the musical philosophy that originally made Coke Studio different.

Rather than chasing every contemporary trend, the music could once again concentrate heavily on composition, musicianship and Pakistani musical traditions.

The downside

The challenge was that the Pakistani music audience had changed.

Younger listeners were increasingly discovering music through YouTube, Spotify and social media rather than television.

Coke Studio therefore had to become something that could compete in a completely different digital environment.

And that led to the biggest transformation yet.

Xulfi — Seasons 14–15: The Digital Revolution

When Zulfiqar "Xulfi" Jabbar Khan took over Coke Studio, he did not simply change the music.

He changed the format itself.

Season 14 moved away from the older model of repeatedly reinterpreting established songs. Instead, the season focused on original compositions released as individual songs with major visual productions.

Dawn described the change as a major departure from the old format, noting that the season moved toward original songs and carefully produced music videos.

This was Coke Studio designed for YouTube, streaming platforms and social media.

And then came "Pasoori."

The Ali Sethi and Shae Gill collaboration became one of the biggest Pakistani music successes of the streaming era.

In September 2026, Coca-Cola announced that Pasoori had crossed one billion YouTube views, making it the first locally produced Pakistani music video to reach that milestone. The company attributes the song's appeal partly to its combination of Punjabi and Urdu lyrics, contemporary production and traditional folk influences.

The positive effect

Xulfi demonstrated that Pakistani music could be globally competitive without abandoning its identity.

Season 14 brought together traditional sounds with electronic music, hip-hop, pop and contemporary songwriting.

Songs such as Pasoori, Kana Yaari, Tu Jhoom, Mehram and Ye Dunya demonstrated how dramatically the Coke Studio sound had expanded. Contemporary coverage highlighted the diversity of these productions, from electronic and rap influences to traditional Sufi and folk elements.

Season 15 continued the approach, featuring 11 original songs and collaborations across Pakistani languages, genres and musical backgrounds.

The downside

But there is an interesting trade-off.

The new Coke Studio is much more cinematic and digitally focused.

That has helped individual songs travel internationally, but some listeners miss the feeling of musicians simply sitting together and creating music in a studio.

The question is therefore not whether Xulfi changed Coke Studio.

He clearly did.

The bigger question is whether the new Coke Studio still represents the same idea that Rohail Hyatt originally created.

From Rohail Hyatt to Xulfi: What Actually Changed?

Looking at all five producer eras, the evolution becomes easier to understand.

Rohail Hyatt made fusion the foundation.

Strings made Coke Studio mainstream.

Ali Hamza and Zohaib Kazi pushed it outside the studio and deeper into regional Pakistan.

Rohail Hyatt's return brought renewed attention to musical experimentation and tradition.

Xulfi transformed Coke Studio into a digital-first, visually ambitious platform built around original songs.

None of these changes happened in isolation.

Each producer inherited the success — and the problems — of the previous era.

That is why comparing producers simply by asking "Who was the best?" misses the bigger story.

The more interesting question is:

What did each producer contribute to Pakistani music?

And the answer is visible in the evolution of the platform itself.

The Coke Studio Legacy

Coke Studio has moved from fusion performances to mainstream collaborations, regional exploration, original compositions and global streaming hits.

It has also helped introduce Pakistani music to audiences who may never have discovered these sounds otherwise.

Today, the platform's reach is difficult to ignore. Coca-Cola says Coke Studio has accumulated more than 5 billion digital views and more than 24 million subscribers, with its music reaching audiences in more than 180 countries.

And the story is still evolving.

In August 2026, Coca-Cola announced Coke Studio Nu.WAV, a new platform connected to the Coke Studio ecosystem. Importantly, the company says Nu.WAV is not Season 16; it is a separate platform designed to give artists, producers and other creative collaborators greater freedom to develop their own identities.

Perhaps that is the most fitting conclusion to the Coke Studio story.

For almost two decades, Coke Studio has survived by changing.

The sound that began with Rohail Hyatt could not remain the same forever.

And perhaps it was never supposed to.

Coke Studio's greatest contribution may not be any single song or producer. It may be the idea that Pakistani music can keep changing — while still carrying its history with it.