Qasam Coke Studio video: Shae Gill and Afusic song nears 9 million views in 3 days
The Qasam music video is out and trending on YouTube in Pakistan. Who directed it, the sarangi behind the hook, and how it compares with the other Nu.WAV songs.
New since our first report: the official music video for Qasam is out. Coke Studio Pakistan released it on Friday, 30 October, a day after the audio, and by Monday morning, 2 November, it had close to 9 million views on YouTube and was on the platform’s trending list in Pakistan.
The song pairs Shae Gill, the Pasoori singer, with rapper and songwriter Afusic, with producer Abdullah Kasumbi behind the music.
Who made the Qasam video?
Kasumbi did more than produce the track. The video credits him as director and co-editor as well, which is unusual for a Coke Studio release, where producers usually hand the camera to a separate director. Babar Dahr is the director of photography, and it was shot at Kenneyz Media City studio, with drone work credited too.
The video also has a movement director, Shams Mansur, and four movement artists, so this is a staged, choreographed piece rather than a simple studio performance. Gali Films produced it, the same company that handled the earlier Nu.WAV videos, and it is distributed by Warner Music MENA.
One credit worth noticing: Gul Khan on sarangi. In a track built by a young electronic producer, the bowed sarangi gives Qasam a sound that ties it back to older Pakistani music, and it is a big part of why the song does not feel like just another pop single.
The song’s opening line
The video’s description opens with the line “Aise dil dukha na”, roughly “don’t hurt a heart like this”, which sums up the song: a plea in the middle of a breaking relationship. Afusic wrote the lyrics and composed the melody with Kasumbi.
How it compares with the other Nu.WAV songs
Qasam is the fifth of six songs in Coke Studio Nu.WAV, the platform for younger artists that launched in September. Its first days are among the strongest of the series so far: Shabnam, by Maanu and Zoha Waseem, passed 16 million views in its first five days in October. Qasam is on a similar pace.
That leaves one song, Ae Deewan e Dil, to close the series. Coke Studio has not announced a date for it.
