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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  A song for the soul
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A song for the soul

Coke Studio, Pakistan's Music for the Deaf initiative shows the way forward to enable the hearing impaired really experience music

Coke Studio’s Music for the Deaf shifts the focus on the deaf “listener”Premium
Coke Studio’s Music for the Deaf shifts the focus on the deaf “listener”

Social welfare and music go back such a long way that it has almost reached a level of dullness. From playing for victims of an earthquake there are now concerts for “woman’s emancipation" to creating a band of transgender musicians. Sincere as they are on a surface-level, most of them seem too facile to bring about any change. More often than not, they are also musically unexciting. Perhaps that explains the outpouring of praises for the new initiative by Coke Studio, Pakistan that has resulted in its new video getting viral on social media. In the 4 minutes 13 seconds video that was released on the internet last Saturday, we are shown a group of eight hearing-impaired people being enabled to enjoy music in a specially devised set-up made up of LED lights, a giant screen and a vibrating couch.

Creating musical experiences for the deaf have found wide-spread support all over the world but they are concentrated on involving the community in music-making; the UK based Music and The Deaf, an organisation dedicated to the cause since 1988 has activities and programs throughout the year. But Coke Studio’s Music for the Deaf shifts the focus on the deaf “listener".

Based on sound scientific research, this specialized set-up could be a step forward in the enhancement of musical experiences for the hard of hearing. The project was conceptualized by the Lahore-based Marketing Team Ogilvy and Mather in partnership with O&M’s Singapore-based Chinese Brand Innovation Company K1ND.

Imran Qaizer, business director, Coca-Cola, Soho Square, O&M, says that although “there have been experiments of such nature around the world", they created the installation from scratch. He breaks down the process of music being communicated through lights and vibrations. “There is a special sofa that amplifies deaf people’s sense of touch. It has hundreds of vibration engines embedded inside. They work in sync with the beats and rhythm of any song. When a deaf person sits on the couch they can feel the music through these engines," says Qaizer, adding, “Additionally the couch is linked to a LED light installation. They glow, dim or even pulsate in sync with music." They are contemplating with the idea of making something long-term and sustainable out of it.

Coke Studio’s initiative feels more than a brand exercise and an extension of the show’s philosophy. It creates something new, pushing the boundaries of technical innovation, music and branding itself. Barring some alterations made to suit the format of the show, this “experiment" draws from the findings of a research paper by the University of Singapore that lays a foundation for other advancements of the deaf in everyday life—such as responding to doorbell, perceiving footsteps from behind or better TV watching. The paper also argues that the deaf is more likely to enjoy live musical performances—it says,“facial expressions of a singer can significantly influence the judgment of emotions in music". This is perfectly in line with a platform like Coke Studio where the musical showmanship of its videos are an integral part of the experience.

As shown in the video, the participants were shown versions of Sammi Meri Waar and Tajdar e Haram from Season 8. According to Sarah Sheikh, Donor Engagement director, the Karachi-based Deaf Reach Community that collaborated with Coca Cola on the project, it helped that these were popular folk songs whose lyrics, as with most Pakistanis, were known to them. Sheikh, also featured in the video, accompanied the participants when they were flown to Bangkok. There, a studio installed with the devices was unveiled to the surprised participants who knew little about the experiment. Despite wearing earplugs, Shaikh remembers the experience of being almost “deafened" by the music playing in full-blast from 6.5 feet boombox speakers as the participants, with different degrees of hearing loss impairment, loosened themselves up to the music. While some began tapping their feet and others snapped their fingers to the percussions, one person started head-banging to the groove of the bass. “Listening to music is therapeutic for the hearing world. But unlike others, the deaf interpret music visually and experience the bass with their bodies. It is not audio-based but in fact a visual and also a physical experience," says Shaikh who likens the initiative to any act of inclusivity of the marginalised, like making public places accessible to the physically challenged. For a show that has effortlessly blended the musical styles and traditions of East and the West and dissolved barriers—in India, the show is arguably more popular than its Indian counterpart—it couldn’t be more fitting.

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Published: 03 Aug 2016, 02:54 PM IST
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