Coke Studio Roots @The Peninsula Studios
Real People, Real Music, The Real Thing
Discovering the Peninsula
In our flagship program, we travel to small villages and towns to discover the folk music of our lands. We have met over 2,000 musicians from challenged backgrounds and carried out over 1000 field recordings. Out of which, 80 musicians attended our Artist in Residence program.
Discovering the Peninsula is an idea dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and reviving folk music by the hidden musical talent in the country from the grass-root levels. There is a story behind their music, poetry, compositions, monuments, and food, all of which come alive in the songs they sing for us.
Did you know a Nawab Sahab in Punjab, created beautiful tombs for his court musicians in Nakodar?
Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid, Shah Hussain from Punjab, Lalon Fakir from Kushtia Bangladesh, Vallabhacharya from Guntur, Narsinh Mehta from Gujarat, Jayadeva from Orissa, and many more saints and poets are featured in this program.
Our folk musicians are mentored to give off their best, as their music gets recorded, filmed, and taken to a wider audience. Many of them get more shows and recording opportunities as their work created with us gets popular. One even got a scholarship to Canada to study music.
#MusicChangesLives | Discover the Peninsula
Rangley Punjabis @The Peninsula Studios - Punjab
Mast Qalandars @The Peninsula Studios - Rajasthan
Coke Studio
Coke Studio Roots @The Peninsula Studios is perhaps the most audacious program that unearthed the finest music and musicians from deep inside the hinterland of India. The story is about great music from our lands, sung by simple, happy men and women who have given their best while being recorded live.
Over 100 field recordings | 1800 km of travel | 9 months of production | 24 Coke Studio Roots artists | 10 great music videos and documentaries rooted in Punjab was the result of this effort
This team formed our Artists in Residence program. An authentic, grueling and robust process created some classic music. These gifted artists sent in their recordings for scholarships and admissions to music schools here and overseas. This provides more opportunities to record, perform, showcase their talent. The program helped change lives and present our great heritage to audiences across cultures and boundaries. Listen to musicians from Maler Kotla, Nakodar, Bhatinda, and Patiala in this exciting production.
#MusicChangesLives | Discover the Peninsula
Mast Qalandars
This world-class album from The Peninsula Studios received a national award for Best Album. After returning from a successful overseas concert in Dubai, the Mast Qalandars performed as a band at premier events like Nokia Music Connect where their performances received a standing ovation from Imogen Heap at the Nokia Music Connect. They perform as a band for high-end corporate events like Market Research Society of India, Bengal Club, and Friends Club in New Delhi.
The program recorded over 700 undiscovered musicians from small towns and villages of Rajasthan in 2010. 28 artists mentored and recorded in our studio in Delhi. 10 tracks were mixed and mastered in London in 2011.
Our Artists in Residence; Kutle Khan, Dayam Khan, and Nathoo Lal Solanki perform and record around the world. They come from Barmer, Jaisalmer, Pushkar, and Udaipur. Their achievements make us proud.
Maestros In Studio
Classical Music
The Rangley Punjabis
This album presents Punjabi music leading back to its roots of old-school folk and high-spirited music and poetry. The album also features Dolly Guleria, the nightingale of Punjab, the daughter of the legendary Surinder Kaur. Afshana Khan who is from Bhatinda has now become a singing sensation from Punjab, hear Balwinder Singh Mast from Naushera on the border sing Challa.
20 artists featured in this Nokia Music Theatre initiative. The journey was broadcast by MTV and the Album was nominated by GIMA 2015 as the Best Album - Folk.
Military Music
Military Music
Martial music was introduced to the British Army as a part of their fighting units. Today the Indian Military has several brass bands attached to its arms. The Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) traces its roots back to 250 years. MLI which is one of India’s elite regiments gave The Peninsula Studios the honor to record their Silver Band which came up from their regimental center in Belgaum. The 32 piece silver band recorded the 28 best martial music pieces at The Peninsula Studios to mark their 250th anniversary. Enjoy these popular military tunes.
Maestros In Studio
The program is inspired by the early recordings of geniuses like M S Subbulakshmi, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Bismillah, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma, Dr Balamuralikrishna and many others. All of them treasured their early recordings which in time became classics for music lovers.
We believe it is very important to have high-quality recordings capturing the finest renditions of young artists who are supremely talented and have been dedicated several years to honing their craft. These recordings showcase their finest renditions early in their careers and in time will be a testimony to their high standards, even as young artists.
The best of Carnatic and Hindustani Classical Music is recorded & filmed in this flagship program that showcases the best of Indian Classical music and takes the tradition forward.
