Coke Studio Nu.WAV returns with its fourth release, Shabnam, bringing together Maanu and Zoha Waseem on a track produced by Talal Qureshi that explores two sides of a relationship where love, doubt and suspicion begin to blur into one another.
Shabnam grew out of an unfinished collaboration between Talal and Maanu before expanding to include Zoha. Taking its name from morning dew – something fleeting and impossible to hold onto for long – the song finds Maanu and Zoha occupying separate versions of the same relationship, each returning to the same moments from an entirely different perspective.
Maanu opens the song from a place of uncertainty and suspicion, while Zoha responds from a vantage point entirely her own. Their voices move alongside rather than neatly towards one another, allowing the tension to remain unresolved and turning the song into a conversation between two people experiencing the same relationship very differently.
The music video, directed by Fida Moin, builds on that uncertainty through a playful, surreal interpretation of the relationship. Ordinary domestic moments gradually become exaggerated through Maanu’s perspective, with familiar objects and gestures taking on unexpected meanings as reality and imagination begin to blur.
That tension eventually spills into a birthday gathering that descends into chaos, with plates meeting concrete walls as celebration gives way to pandemonium. Talal Qureshi himself appears as a DJ arriving at what seems to be a party, only to discover that he has stepped into a household already consumed by suspicion.
Visually, Tanya Mirza’s Production Design and Art Direction draw from Brutalism and the theatrical shadows of German Expressionism, creating a world of soaring interiors, cool greys and imposing concrete structures. Books sit in measured rows, a solitary staircase rises through the space, and a bare kitchen completes a home that feels familiar but never entirely comfortable.
Speaking about Shabnam, Kamal Khan, Executive Producer of Coke Studio Nu.WAV, said, “Shabnam had this tension in it from the beginning that I really liked. Talal and Maanu had already started something together, and then Zoha came in and suddenly you had two people almost telling different versions of the same story. Fida really leaned into that with the film. He made the paranoia funny and strange without losing the uneasiness underneath it, and Tanya built this world where even normal things start to feel a little off. It all feels very specific to the song, which is really what we want with Nu.WAV.”
Shabnam brings together three artists whose work reflects different corners of Pakistan’s contemporary music landscape.
Maanu has spent nearly a decade building a distinct place within Pakistan’s indie, pop and hip-hop scene, moving from Lahore’s grassroots music spaces to releases including Melancholic, Khwaab and Kidhar? and Sweetu, while his appearance on the award-winning Coke Studio Season 15 track Jhol alongside Annural Khalid became one of his most widely recognised releases. His recent album Thikaana further expanded that body of work through collaborations with Asim Azhar and Talha Anjum.
Zoha Waseem, meanwhile, brings a foundation in classical and ghazal singing into contemporary pop. Having first drawn recognition through performances honouring Madam Noor Jehan at Alhamra in Lahore, she later reached wider digital audiences through releases including Majboor. Her work continues to bridge traditional vocal discipline with progressive pop, synth-led production and contemporary songwriting.
Behind the track is Talal Qureshi, a longstanding figure in Pakistan’s electronic and producer-led music movement. For more than a decade, his work has moved between independent electronic music and mainstream pop. His previous Coke Studio work includes producing Season 14’s Peechay Hutt, while his wider catalogue includes AAG, Cricket Khidaiye, and his full-length project TURBO.
With Kamal Khan as Executive Producer of Coke Studio Nu.WAV, Shabnam is produced by Talal Qureshi and co-produced by Maanu. The song is written by Maanu and Zoha Waseem, composed by Maanu, and arranged by Maanu and Talal Qureshi. It is mixed by Talal Qureshi, mastered by Sean Tallman, and recorded at Sounds Good Studios, with Shayaan Siddiqui as Recording Engineer.
The music video is directed by Fida Moin, with Salaar Yousufzai as Director of Photography and Tanya Mirza leading Production Design and Art Direction. Faraz Sheikh and Team lead Wardrobe Design and Styling. The project is produced by Gali Films, with Iman Khan as Producer and Jamal Haroon and Zarmeen Ali as Associate Producers.
Shabnam by Maanu × Zoha Waseem, produced by Talal Qureshi, is out now across Coke Studio’s official digital platforms.
Shabnam is the fourth of six Coke Studio Nu.WAV releases, following Dil, Rangeen and Maheya, with two further songs and creative worlds set to unfold over the coming weeks.
