Coke Studio Bangla’s latest song of season 2, “Kotha Koiyo Na” is an original track by the platform, where the singers and musicians beautifully blend urban music with folk music. The song is written by one of the prominent urban poets of Bangladesh, Hashim Mahmud while the song was composed and produced by renowned musician Emon Chowdhury. The lead singers of the song featured Arfan Mredha Shiblu, an urban singer who worked with the writer Hashim Mahmud for over 20 years and Aleya Begum, a rooted singer with extraordinary voice.
“Kotha Koiyo Na”, is a song where the lyrics portrays the lingering feeling that can only be quenched when one meets with their loved one face to face. Amidst our daily battle of survival, we yearn to go back to our loved ones for the peace of mind we seek. Through the fusion of modern music and Mymensingh Gitika, the song beautifully presented the longing, the absence of a power to be there with our loved ones.
Emon Chowdhury, the composer and producer of the song said, “Coke Studio Bangla has given us musicians a platform, where we can experiment with different elements and take the audience to a captivating musical journey. Working with such diverse talented artists has been very inspiring for me.”
The visuals of the song were set in a rural village yard in a moonlit night. Musical performances during such nights in village yard is an age-old tradition in rural Bangladesh and many music of the country were inspired by this beauty of moonlit nights. Coke Studio Bangla tried to capture the essence of such musical performances, where Arfan Mredha Shiblu with his bohemian urban musician friends stays in a village and takes part with Aleya Begum and her female Baul group to create this enchanting music.
Both singers had their own set of “Dohar”, where Shiblu had the modern set of instruments along with modern back vocals on his side and Aleya Begum led her own group of female Baul with Baul Orchestra. This is the first time in Coke Studio Bangla or any other platform where Baul Orchestra is being featured. While the lead singers with their Dohar brought out the beauty of urban and folk music, Emon Chowdhury in the middle tied the whole performance together.
“I’ve been working with Hashim bhai for decades, his words have always been simple yet connecting. It fills my heart with joy, to sing one of his songs in such a popular platform.” says Arfan Mredha Shiblu, the male lead singer.
Aleya Begum the female lead singer said, “In this song we highlighted Mymensingh Gitika, one of the oldest forms of literature recorded in Bangla language. Blending urban beats with our folk roots, we created a magical musical potion that brings people together and makes their souls dance.”