Coke Studio Bangla Returns With Fourth Season

The fourth season of Coke Studio Bangla commences today with the release of its inaugural song, marking the platform’s return after a six-month hiatus. The musical franchise concluded its third season last November with the release of the song Mast Qalandar, performed by the eminent vocalist Runa Laila.

Curation, Themes, and Artist Line-Up

Shayan Chowdhury Arnob continues his role as the curator for the fourth consecutive season. The upcoming installment maintains the platform’s established format of integrating diverse musical genres, with a pronounced emphasis on traditional Bengali culture and folk music. The artist line-up for the new season features a mix of established and contemporary performers, including Moushumi Akter Salma, Mahatim Shakib, Sunidhi Nayak, Shobhandeb Das (Shuvodu), Ankan Kumar, and the musical band Meghdol, among others.

Opening Tribute and Cross-Border Collaborations

To commemorate the birth anniversary of the National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, the fourth season opens with a Nazrul Sangeet. The song features musical arrangement by Shuvendu Das Shuvo and has been voiced by the young vocalist Mahatim Shakib.

A defining characteristic of Coke Studio Bangla is its cross-border collaborations, pairing Bangladeshi artists with international performers. The fourth season continues this trend by featuring several overseas musicians, most notably the popular West Bengal singer-songwriter Anupam Roy. This marks Roy’s return to the franchise after a decade, having previously performed Lalon Shah’s spiritual song Moner Manush in a bilingual Bengali and Hindi rendition on Coke Studio India in 2015.

Historical Overview of Coke Studio Bangla

Coke Studio Bangla officially launched its operations in Bangladesh in 2022. While its first two seasons progressed without disruption, the third season faced significant operational delays. Following the release of its initial three songs, production was halted for over a year before resuming with new releases in October last year.

The third season, which was distributed in two distinct phases, comprised a total of eight songs. The table below outlines the most commercially successful tracks from the third season based on audience viewership metrics:

The launching of the fourth season today aims to build upon this established digital footprint by continuing to archive and modernise traditional Bengali music for a global audience.