Coke Studio Bangla Season 3 Kicks Off with a Celebration of Bangladeshi Handloom Heritage

This past weekend marked the beginning of Coke Studio Bangla's third season, which honored Bangladesh's often-forgotten textile artists. Under the direction of Shayan Chowdhury Arnob, creative director of Coke Studio Bangla, weaver Md. Gonjer Ali, Nigerian musician Oli Boy, and vocalist Jaya Ahsan collaborated on the first song, Tati.

Tati's lyrics are a combination of three separate songs: Oli Boy's Time to Giger, Md. Gonjer Ali's Gayer Bodhu, and Shatarupa Thakurta Roy's Hana di Reshomer Bone. Chandra Shekhar Shaha's collection of Jamdani weavers' rhythmic lyrics is also featured in the song.

The words and visuals of Tati pay tribute to Bangladesh's long history of handlooming, or "taat," particularly the Jamdani weave, and convey the labor of love, attention to detail, and skillful weaving that goes into creating a sari.

The music video's set, which features a loom and bundles of threads as weavers' tools, is a riot of color. Two models are shown strutting down the ramp showcasing handloom items, and the performers are clothed in saris and various garments made of jamdani and other textiles. Coke Studio Bangla and Thread, a Jamdani-focused apparel line run by Syeda Sadia Afrina, collaborated on the costumes.

The opening song of Coke Studio Bangla Season 3 is a blend of western sounds and traditional music from Bangladesh. The sound of the handlooms' rhythmic movements opens the tune, which then features the sarangi and dotara, Oli Boy's Afrobeats, and more.

With Arnob, Pritom Hasan, Emon Chowdhury, and Shuvendu Das Shuvo serving as music producers, Coke Studio Bangla Season 3 will feature 11 songs.

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