Season 7 Artists

Naseer & Shahab

Naseer & Shahab is a Pashtu rock band duo which was formed by Naseer in 2010. Naseer Afridi lives in Pakistan while Shahab Qamar resides in Australia. From its inception, the duo has been redefining the status of Pashto rock music, a musical category which no one could have even imagined a few years back.

Commenting on his musical aspirations Naseer Afridi says, “I was surrounded by folk music but I was never influenced by it. A cousin of mine introduced me to Linkin Park when I was 14 and since then, things changed. Back then, everyone would love folk and for a majority, rock music was termed noisy. I’d disagree with them and tell them how amazing rock music is. My cousins would laugh at me for being the odd person out trying to bring Pashto rock into the scene. They’d give me examples of how successful my fellow folk musicians were and laugh at me. I was told to focus on folk music, in short, not experiment. I started taking myself as a rebel for putting Pashto Rock Music against the mainstream Pashto music. Folk music was never bad, but with such pressure, I think folk music and I became enemies for a while. Imagine that!”

One of the band’s most coveted singles has been “Za Sta Pashan Nayam”, a single which speaks volumes of the band’s philosophy and melodic code. The duo has been recognized for their musical contributions in the past, being nominated by both Radio 1 FM 91 as the Best Radio Rock Band Award and the 12th Lux Style Award committee in the category of Best Emerging Talent.

Commenting on their Coke Studio debut in the present Season, Naseer & Shahab said, “Coke Studio remains a benchmark for musicians and Naseer & Shahab still treat it that way. Coke Studio is a vision, not just to bring forward rich music but to highlight the exotics of the Music Industry. To us, Coke Studio means an opportunity to present the revolution in Pashto music to the masses”.

Looking forward the band is working on its first studio album and is also looking out for potential collaborations with mainstream pop/rock artists in the country. Coke Studio welcomes Naseer & Shahab as the band makes its Coke Studio debut in Season 7.