Cokefest is back with a bang, and this year it is going to take the experience of a music festival to the comfort of your homes. With a pandemic holding the reins of normalcy, putting together a first-of-its-kind digital music festival is no easy feat; but Coca-Cola being Coca-Cola, it has always been an innovator and an enabler.
Pushing that vision of reinvention into reality, Coca-Cola Pakistan partnered with two of the top tech companies in Pakistan with an aim to redefine the concert going experience. Today, that vision has come to fruition in the form of the first digital music festival in the history of Pakistan!
Fahad Ashraf, GM Pakistan and Afghanistan at The Coca-Cola Export Corporation said, “Coca-Cola is disrupting the new normal by creating a virtual event enabled through latest technologies. With CokeFest 2020, we wanted to avoid large gatherings whilst still keeping the spirit of music alive. So we brought some of the best musical talent in Pakistan together with the country’s leading tech companies, to bring you a virtual experience that feels as close as possible to attending an actual musical concert”.
The three-day Cokefest brought to you by Patari x Tapmad is set to kick off on November 20th all the way through to November 22nd and promises an interactive experience of a lifetime
Yassir Pasha, who is the CEO for Tapmad, a local video streaming platform, explains their aim with regards to making the user experience a two-way communication with the platform. “Our strategy was to create dynamic two-way communication in terms of content integration with the user.” Explaining how this will pan out he said, “The concept is that you can watch content on the player while you can shop the look (you can buy what the artist is wearing!!!!) and if you’re hungry you can shop the food options below. Basically we managed to integrate promo-codes literally raining on user screens for them to catch and avail, all the while experiencing Cokefest!”
Elaborating on the importance of giving underground artists a launching pad like Cokefest, Patari CEO Zarlasht Faisal says, “Many of the artists in this line-up have not been picked up by mainstream brands before,” said Faisal, “but Coke has been super supportive and trusted our instinct.” Explaining how the line-up was built, she said, “We selected the artists’ based on what people were listening to on our platform. Each one of these artists has been in the top trending list on Patari and we are confident that this emerging talent will set the (digital) stage on fire!”
Featuring 12 extremely talented artists, here is a little sneak-peek on who to expect:
1. SomeWhatSuper:
This new age Lahore-based music group entails two artists, Talha Dar and Feroze Faisal, and is best known for the smash hit single called ‘The Sibbi Song’. The song, which released in early 2017, also went on to share the stage with Atif Aslam at the Lux Style Awards!
This musical duo has been making waves and capturing hearts along the way, promising a fun-filled selection of EDM music for their Cokefest audience.
2. Young Stunners
Known for pioneering Urdu rap in Pakistan, Young Stunners first released their music in 2013 with major hits like Burger-e-Karachi and Maila Majnu before rising to stardom. The duo, Talha Anjum and Talha Yunus, are best known for their rude but brilliant lyrics and are hailed as the naked-voice of the youth.
3. Kaky Thousand
Waqas Baloch, a nine-year-old rapper has shown the country, whether it remembers Lyari or not – like Lyari, he is a superstar in his own right and is here to stay – loud and proud! Practicing how to rap with his older brother, Asif Balli, since he was five, Waqas goes by the name ‘Kaky Thou$sand’, given to him by his brother. Inspired by Bohemia and his Punjabi rap, this little star has shown Pakistan that age is literally just another number – talent can come from anywhere, at any time. Rattling expectations of hearing grievances, his debut track Apna Daur Ayega is not only inspirational and uplifting, it puts all faith in hard work – we hear you!
4. ESharp
This Karachi based indie-rock band has people falling in love with their music and their sense of humour! Band members Ahmed Zawar, Anwaar Ahmed, Qumber Kazmi, Asher Minhas Damanwala and Rajil Anthony have three albums under their belt and a huge national fan-base. The third album, Choti Choti Khushiyaan, can literally turn that frown upside down. Their infectious onstage energy will have you wanting to sing and dance along – so if you don’t know the words to their songs – look them up right now!
5. Abdullah Siddiqui
Prodigy – a word commonly used to describe this 20-year-old electronic pop-rock singer-songwriter and producer. Having collaborated with some of the biggest artists in the country, Abdullah is based in Lahore and has set his genre of music apart from any other likely to be seen in the country. One of his collaborations took place with fellow Cokefest artist, Shamoon Ismail and was instantly loved by all who listened.
He also partnered up with Meesha Shafi to produce a deeply melancholic track called Magenta Cyan. This will be his first appearance on Cokefest and it bound to be transcendental.
6. XPolymer Dar
Islamabad based Punjabi rapper Mohammad Dar aka XPolymer Dar apart from being a solo artist is also cofounder of the band Rap Engineers, a veteran rap group that started producing music in 2005. Famous for producing the OST for Verna featuring Mahira Khan, Xpolymer is also known for introducing rap-battle in Pakistan through the They-See Battle League and has become a pillar of recognition for Pakistan’s rap scene.
7. Shamoon Ismail
With no introduction needed, Shamoon broke into the music scene six years ago creating his own genre called Jutt Blues. Since then, this heartthrob has managed to bag nominations at the Lux Style Awards for two consecutive years; Singer of the Year in 2019 for Marijuana (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=invIrTznA38) and Song of the Year in 2020 for Late Night from Brown Sugar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rsTeGoXJLw)! Known for speaking to his fans (near and far) through music and challenging anything that stands in his way – this guy has flown up the ranks of favourite musicians very fast.
8. Natasha Baig
Coming to us from the breath-taking valley of Hunza, Natasha is one of Coke Studio’s multi-talented artists; an athlete who played under-19 cricket as an off-spin bowler in district matches, who is now pursuing a successful career singing sufi-rock. Natasha’s performance on Coke Studio singing Jawab-e-Shikwa showed-off the strength in her beautiful voice, taking the world by storm, quickly becoming an international favourite!
The artist hopes to one day collaborate with Abida Parveen and we can’t help but hold our breath in anticipation!
9. Sirine Jahangir
Sirine started losing her eyesight when she was 9-years-old but refused to let that stop her from living out her dream. Music, she says, is her salvation; and the world agrees! Making it to the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent, Sirine has given one powerful performance after another. While Sirine will not be flying into Pakistan due to corona, she is excited to reach out to her Pakistani fans and has promised to give a virtual performance to remember!
10. Ali Noor
This man needs no introduction – but this veteran rock-star’s riveting music pumps loud and proud from literally every car-stereo in Pakistan! With an entire entourage of original songs this man is ready to knock the shoes off of our feet!
“A lot of the line-up chosen is a mix of younger, hotter acts like Kaky Thousand, Young Stunners, and being given the opportunity to play at a trendy platform like Cokefest is a dream come true for them and a party on our screens for us!” says Faisal.
Still not convinced? Well, all these brilliant Cokefest artists will also be revealing the coveted Coke Studio 2020 lineup! Need we say more?
To register for the event all you have to do is follow these simple steps:
- Download the Patari app on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.centsol.csongs or IOS: https://apps.apple.com/pk/app/patari/id1011704215)
- Register and sign-up for Coke Fest (Patari x Tapmad)
- Use the unique code provided to view all three days of the event on the Tapmad app or website! (Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tapmad.tapmadtv IOS: https://apps.apple.com/pk/app/tapmad/id1317253610)
Not only will you be able to buy official merchandise, avail crazy food discounts, witness the hottest acts in Pakistan perform live, you will also get a peek into Coke Studio 2020! So don’t forget to sign up for the party of a lifetime starting November 20th-November 22nd.
See you all there!
This post is a press release by Coke Fest
