Umber Hyatt of Coke Studio fame passes away

Umber Hyatt, the former wife of celebrated musician and Coke Studio producer Rohail Hyatt, passed away on September 5 in Karachi, multiple sources confirmed to The Express Tribune. Known for her significant contributions to the music industry alongside Rohail, Umber's passing marks the end of an era for those who knew her and the many lives she touched.

As a professional duo, Umber and Rohail led the first four seasons of Coke Studio, establishing it as a cornerstone of Pakistan's music scene. After season four, Rohail produced seasons five and six on his own, with season six adopting a hybrid format that highlighted the show's evolution.

Beyond Coke Studio, Umber and Rohail were co-owners of Frequency Media, a company that played a pivotal role in their professional journey. As equal partners, their divorce brought the question of revenue distribution into sharp focus, with Umber maintaining a 50 per cent share in the project.

Despite her impactful career, not much has been said on social media about Umber's passing. Filmmaker Jami was among the few who publicly acknowledged her legacy. In an emotional Instagram post, he wrote, "My sincere tribute to Umber Hayat, the legend of Coke Studio and many other ventures plus a beautiful human. Will always miss you, Boss."

In his accompanying video, Jami lamented that many great individuals, like Umber, often pass away without the world fully recognising their contributions. He emphasised, "Her contributions are huge. It's not easy to create a show as big as Coke Studio."

In our efforts to gather reflections on Umber's life and work, we reached out to several members of the Coke Studio season 1-4 team, but none were available for comment.