1- Asrar, Sab Aakho Ali Ali

https://youtu.be/kEz93Qn8Z_s
This song is about Hazrat Ali (SAW). Its ironic that I am sharing this with you
near Ashura.
Hazrat Ali (SAW) is considered really close to all Muslims especially the Shia sect
within Muslims.
Its an amazing song regarding one of the best Muslims that ever lived. This is in
both Punjabi and Urdu.

2- Sajjad Ali, Tum Naraaz Ho

https://youtu.be/Fx7hHmPw8IE
This song. Jiajune. This one is close to my heart. Helped me alot personally when
dealing with love loss.
The singer is Sajjad Ali who is one of the oldest and most revered singers in
Pakistan Pop.
He was alive and cruching out hits when we were little and now years later he
produced this beauty.
Just listen to his voice and the lyrics and be mesmerized. This is in Urdu.

3- Niazi Brothers, Lai Beqadraa Nal Yaari,

https://youtu.be/brqDDMBjvP0
So Pakistan has many folk songs due to most of its population in villages and rural
areas.
This is a similar folk song but ofcourse remixed for the present audience. It is
sung by a brother duo.
There are many folk songs converted for present audience consumption but I chose
this one due to the different
instruments being used. From the flute, to the tabla (Pakistani drum) and even the
punjabi guitar that you can
hear at the beginning of the song. This is in Potwar Punjabi (specefic to parts of
Southern Punjab).

4- Ustaad Raees Khan & Abida Parveen, Mein Sufi Hoon

https://youtu.be/qOgZJJmLfhA
So by the title of the song you know this relates to Sufism. Sufism being the love
for Allah by us humans.
I do not know how much prevalent it is in China or Taiwan areas but Pakistan is the
birthplace of Sufism.
And this love for Allah leads to many many poems being written and sung by Sufi
poets. Abida Parveen is a gem
when it comes to Sufi music. One of the few women that are devoted to Sufi music.
This combined with Ustad Raees
on the Sitar (the insturment at the start) makes this an amazing song that evokes
love for Allah. There is one line
in this song that I really loved, "When my ego was there, the awareness of God was
not there. Now there is only God
and there is no me". Also "When the light of knowledge chased away the darkness
inside me, there was no need
for me to light a physical lamp anymore". Just pure beauty. This is in Persian.

5- Akhtar Chanal, Komal Rizvi & Momin Durrani, Washmallay

https://youtu.be/5mqFihvptHI
So this song isnt the best but I wanted you to see it due to a couple of reasons.
Pakistan is made of 4 provinces.
All 4 with its unique dress code, main language and different culture. I mean Urdu
was created from combining words
from all these provinces' languages. This song comes from the province of
Balochistan and the video is what is best.
All the people are wearing dress from that province. The intruments are tweeked to
sound as those from conventional
intruments from Balochistan and there is a traditional dance added in the mix of
video as well. The reason for the
upbeat music is because this is a song sung on Balochi weddings. The lyrics arent
very deep though but it features
an actual singer from the desert of Balochistan so this song has its own perosnal
flair. This is in Balochi.

6 & 7- Charkha no Lakha

https://youtu.be/rF_2pqJ86L4
https://youtu.be/y8qU0VcbhBY
So for this I went for a two parter. let me explain. One of the most known Sufi
poets from Pakistan is Bulleh Shah.
Many songs that are sung in Indian movies as well use his lyrics and put a modern
flair on it so as to suit the movie.
So its not a surprise that Coke Studio has used his poetry as well but where they
have differed from Indian music is that
they have not changed the lyrics to suit modern audience or changed the singer into
a modern singer. They have kept
the poetry to its roots but still added that Coke Studio magic. Why I copied two
Youtube links is because both surround
the same poetry but the way it is delivered is different. The first one is sung by
Javed Bashir who is more of a folk and
Qawali singer so his way is more close to a Pakistani Qawali. A qawali is a form of
sufi music. And the second link shows
us what happens when the poem is sung by a couple of young up and coming singers
Atif Aslam and Qayaas. Both are amazing
in their own way as well. Do let me know which redition do you like. Both are in
Punjabi.
So these songs are a rendition of Baba Bulleh Shah�s eternal classic, Charkha. Its
central message is one of commitment.
A commitment to one�s passions, one�s beliefs, and one�s ideals. The song speak of
the revolutions of the spinning wheel.
This spinning wheel is how clothes were made in the early days. The wheel's
movement mimics the relentless,
unending cycle of life, and how the yarn which gets spun out provides testament to
the quality of one�s life and purpose.

8- Zoheb Hassan, Chehra

https://youtu.be/FjlIHBjTJIw
I think after sharing many Sufi songs, I think its better to balance them out with
this one. This one is a romantic song.
The word Chehra means two words: Appear and face. So its basically a word play of
your lover's face appearing infront
of your eyes. The song was sung by the singer's late sister Nazia Hassan who was
one of the most celebrated singers of
Pakistan and one of the few first female pop stars. The singer Zoheb is also one of
the gretest Pakistani pop icons.
The song itself is an ode to both the act of love as well as the beloved
themselves. This in Urdu.

9- Kandyaari Dhol Geet, Bohemia and Chakwal Group

https://youtu.be/RgBW3vWDxxc
You know I was really reluctant from sharing this song with you because you need to
have your roots in Pakistan to
enjoy this song. But I did nonetheless because of three reasons. More than half of
the song is sung by the Chakwal
group which is a group of folk singers from the northern part of Punjab. Secondly,
this is one of the few songs that
actually uses a mud pot as an intrument which you can easily see in the video.
Thirdly, this song has one of the few
actual modern rappers alive ie Bohemia. Do give this a chance as the lyrics are
just pure beauty telling us about how
to deal with heartbreak. Our rap has nothing to do with demeaning women like they
do in the West. This is in Punjabi.

10- Alif Allah, Jugni, Arif Lohar & Meesha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjaH2iuoYWE
So I will close this sharing session of mine (I will ofocurse share one in future
as well after your feedback). For the
last song, I had to choose between a song that I really loved versus a Sufi song
that I really loved. I chose the latter.
Because this song is sung by one of the most talented singer in Pakistan today,
Meesha Safi (the woman). Her voice was
not in this list till now so I had to share her :p. Also the guy, Arif Lohar uses a
very unique instrument for his songs.
You can easily spot it in his hands. Its not something given to him by Coke Studio
or he made it up for the song. This is
his instrument that he created and has surrounded his songs around. It resembles
tongs but with added musical pieces that
usually surround a tambourine. Anyways the song is actually rendition of a Sufi
poet, Sultan Bahu. This is in Punjabi.