Multi-dimensional intimacy with "Bibi Sanam Janam"

After “Paimoona”, Zeb & Haniya steal the show with their highly applaudable “Bibi Sanam”, with Dari derivation and saccharine Dari accent. The Coke Studio sessions are really worth appraising and hold a touch of classy knack to them.

The original song, sung by Wahid Qasemi (Vaheed Kaacemy; Persian) was built on a different set of tune and harmony. The magnificent folk song from Afghanistan is sung in a Dari style by Wahid. Vocals of both the artists are incomparable, since both have a style of their own.

The Zeb & Haniya version starts with a beautiful Rubab played by Sadiq Sameer, whereas the original one starts on a different mode. After Rubab, we hear some dramatic guitar too, followed by some eccentric drum strikes by Pinto. Zoe, Sanam and Saba can be seen as the backing vocalists in the song. The Zeb & Haniya duo has really made it a soulful and poignant melody after giving it a totally innovative and novel touch.

The level of romanticism associated with the beautiful Dari poetry can be felt profoundly. Since the legendary music cannot be re-created or re-composed the way it was done originally, but the endowed duo has added some more glamour and melody to the original sonata. With tinges of Afghan and Persian music, Zeb & Haniya steal the show with potent music and a luminous Rubab playing in the beginning by Sadiq Sameer.

They beautifully maintained the essence and glitz of the Dari language with a stellar performance and thrilling tune. As compared with the original version, the one with Coke Studio is more touching, thus remarkably capturing the right intimacy of music. The song “Bibi Sanam Janam” truly marks a modern-day rhythm that embarks its cultural history, linguistics and subtlety, while adding more instrumentation and dimension to it.

Keep it up Coke Studio!

This post was originally published here.