Coke Studio has announced Coke Studio Nu.WAV, a new platform aimed at the next wave of Pakistani music and culture, which is set to launch in September 2026.
For nearly two decades, Coke Studio has brought together voices, sounds, languages and creative traditions from across the country, helping Pakistani music reach audiences beyond Pakistan and establishing itself as one of the country’s most recognised cultural exports.
According to the announcement, Coke Studio Nu.WAV will build on this legacy by creating space for a different kind of creative exchange. The platform will be shaped by artists, producers and storytellers defining their own sound, communities and audiences.
Unlike a format driven by a single creative hand, Nu.WAV will bring together multiple perspectives. It will feature a mix of established and emerging talent from music, film, design and visual storytelling, offering collaborators greater room to experiment and create independently while remaining part of the larger Coke Studio ecosystem.
Speaking about the new platform, Sami Wahid, General Manager, Pakistan and Afghanistan Region, The Coca-Cola Company, said that Coke Studio had evolved into far more than a music platform over nearly two decades.
“Across 15 seasons, nearly 350 musical releases, it has become a powerful expression of Pakistan’s cultural identity. Most importantly, it has become a source of national pride, carrying the sounds, stories, and spirit of Pakistan to audiences in over 180 countries, while creating a space where emerging talent finds a voice and the country’s creative economy continues to grow,” he said.
He added that Coke Studio Nu.WAV represented the next chapter in this journey, building on the legacy and creating more space for artists, producers and creative communities shaping the sound of Pakistan today.
The creative helm of Coke Studio Nu.WAV will be led by Executive Producer Kamal Khan, an award-winning filmmaker and director, and a Coke Studio veteran.
Kamal Khan said Coke Studio had built something “incredible” with the house band and a single musical direction, while Nu.WAV would take a different approach.
“Nu.WAV is a different approach, laptops, home studios, artists and producers working the way they actually work now. These are people who grew up making music in bedrooms and putting it out themselves. The platform had to reflect that,” he said.
“My job was to bring the right people into the room, let them do what they do, and then get out of the way. Each song has its own world because each artist does,” he added.
Nu.WAV will continue the Coke Studio tradition while bringing first-time voices into the fold alongside established names. These include artists who have built audiences through independent releases, live performances and social media.
The platform’s pathway for emerging talent was widened through the Nu.WAV Portal, which allowed creators to submit work across categories including singing, dancing and other creative disciplines. The portal received thousands of entries from across Pakistan, which were reviewed and shortlisted to help identify Nu.WAV artists and discover a broader pool of promising creators beyond the final music lineup.
The inaugural edition of Coke Studio Nu.WAV will feature Aaryan SDQ, Afusic, Asim Azhar, Hasan Raheem, Izz Chughtai, Maanu, Sabaat Batin, Shae Gill, Young Stunners and Zoha Waseem.
The platform will be built around six songs: “Maheya”, “Dil”, “Rangeen”, “Qasam”, “Shabnam” and “Ae Deewan e Dil”. According to the announcement, the songs together form a portrait of Pakistani identity, with each rooted in its own emotional world and tracing an arc from ambition to belonging.
Nu.WAV will also feature a group of producers shaping the sound behind each song, including Abdullah Kasumbi, Ali Soomro, Jokhay, Rovalio, Talal Qureshi and Umair.
The six Coke Studio Nu.WAV releases will be rolled out individually. Further details about each song, its artists and the creative world behind it will be announced in the coming weeks.
