Coke Studio’s beloved, Umair Jaswal once again left everyone hooked to his single from episode 3, Chal Raha Hoon. While some may find similarities to his previous material, Jaswal surely believes there’s a lot more to the song than just the initial idea. That, and a whole lot of appreciation for the maestro behind Coke Studio was present in our exclusive chat with the singer, read on to find all about it.
“Rohail Hyatt has been a legend of the industry, not just because of Coke Studio but because of his services to the music industry of the country. He’s given us the best music we’ve grown up to,” he said as he raved about the show’s producer.
Jaswal also reminisced over how Hyatt was the one who recognised his talents back when he was winning international accolades. “He discovered me as someone who won an international award for rock music. At the time, I probably was the only Pakistani who was awarded by Rolling Stones India as the Best Rock Act. The timing was also perfect as Rohail wanted to see who is this guy who is winning all these international awards,” he said.
READ: Rohail Hyatt playing it safe with Coke Studio 12 lineup
Interestingly, Jaswal is also one of the few people who Hyatt holds close. In fact, it has been a matter of speculation as to why Hyatt only attends Jaswal’s gigs and not anyone else’s.
“It’s very strange and Rohail is very kind, he actually doesn’t attend concerts. Nobody has seen him go to concerts after Vital Signs. He doesn’t leave his house. And for me, he came out to the show, it means the world to me. And after doing the season, Rohail and I became really good friends, we have this huge amount of respect for each other – as friends, musicians, and human beings,” he said.
“A lot of people ask me why Rohail comes to my shows and not others, and I think Rohail can respond to this better than I can. One thing is for sure, he does find certain comfort working with me and that’s the reason why I have been on the show so many times,” he added.
And Hyatt’s not the only reason why the singer is a regular on the show, and he knows that. “[The fans’] love, messages, comments matter a lot. You guys want to see me on that platform over and over again. And I think I am one of those lucky musicians of the country who have appeared on Coke Studio the most, along with Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. It makes me very happy, and I would like to thank Rohail for believing me at the time when I was at the start of my career,” he said.
And as for his track of the season, Jaswal believes it to be the closest to his heart to date.
“I think until now any song that is going to be close to my heart is Chal Raha Hoon. I think the timing of the song, the whole backstory, the way we performed it, Rohail’s comeback for this season, there are so many factors that are involved in this song that definitely makes it my best and on top of the list. And I think every musician that has played on the song has done justice to it,” he said.
And as far as the comparisons are concerned, Jaswal has an apt answer for that. “Chal Raha and Jee Raha are two very different tracks. The ideas are [usually] very limited for any creative expression. They say there are a total of seven ideas over which people can work creatively. These seven ideas are the basis of all films, songs, etc. Yes, there is some amount of repetition that is there in ideas and stuff, but lyrically this song is very different. It explains a very different feeling,” he said.
