[Pakistan, 30th October 2026] Coke Studio Nu.WAV continues with its fifth release, Qasam, bringing together Shae Gill and Afusic on an experimental pop track produced by Abdullah Kasumbi.
Qasam pairs contemporary electronic production with a distinctly South Asian sound of the sarangi. Written by Afusic, the song explores the uncertainty of a relationship caught between hurt, attachment and the desire to hold on. While the lyrics carry that emotional weight, Abdullah Kasumbi’s production keeps the track energetic and moving, creating a beautiful contrast between what the song is saying and how it feels musically.
That contrast also comes through in the vocals. Afusic brings his familiar rhythmic phrasing to the track, while Shae Gill explores a vocal range and style that audiences have heard less often from her, giving the two voices distinctly different textures. Gul Khan’s sarangi runs through production, adding another emotional layer to its electronic sound.
Kusumbi’s direction focuses on movement, exploring the relationship that sits at the heart of Qasam. Rather than telling the story literally, the choreography follows different stages of connection: two people drawing closer, pulling apart, trying to trust one another and finding their way back again.
At one-point, invisible strings appear to connect and control the dancers; elsewhere, their bodies move almost like stitches, repeatedly coming together and separating again. These ideas echo the song’s central theme of a relationship that is trying to repair itself even as it threatens to come apart, and that is the magic of the Movement Director, Shams Mansur.
The music video was shot inside Karachi’s century-old Bristol Hotel, with Hammad Sohail’s production design using the building’s existing character as part of the visual world. Its ageing interiors, chandeliers and weathered surfaces are paired with details including fading flowers and a banquet left untouched, creating a setting that feels as though it has been lived in for a long time.
Another recurring image in the music video is that of the moth and the flame. The idea emerged from Abdullah Kasumbi and Shams Mansur’s encounters with Rumi and Sufi thought during a visit to Konya and draws on the familiar shama and parwana metaphor of a moth being irresistibly drawn towards a flame. In Qasam, it becomes another way of looking at a relationship where attraction and emotional risk exist side by side. By the video’s final moments, as Shae reaches for Afusic’s hand, the moth also finds its way to the flame.
Speaking about Qasam, Kamal Khan, Executive Producer of Coke Studio Nu.WAV, said: “Qasam was really Abdullah’s world from the beginning. He was producing the song and directing the video, so those two things naturally grew together. Afusic wrote from a very real place. Shae sounds quite different on this one, which I really liked, and then Shams came in and found a way of showing the relationship through movement without making everything too literal. The Bristol already had so much character that they didn’t need to force anything. The sarangi, the dancers, the moth and flame idea – somehow it all sits together and feels like one world. That’s what I really like about it.”
Qasam brings together two artists whose journeys reflect very different paths into contemporary South Asian music.
Shae Gill made her Coke Studio debut alongside Ali Sethi in Season 14 with Pasoori, which went on to become the first locally produced Pakistani music video to cross one billion views on YouTube. Shae has since continued to build an international profile through collaborations including Sukoon with Hassan & Roshaan, Le Right alongside Ali Sethi, Maanu and Abdullah Siddiqui, Bulleya with Asim Azhar, and Coke Studio Global’s One Love with Turkish artist Evdeki Saat.
Afusic, meanwhile, has grown from a digital-first singer, songwriter and rapper into one of the prominent emerging voices in contemporary South Asian pop and hip-hop. His breakout track Pal Pal reached audiences far beyond Pakistan, topping the UK Official Asian Music Chart and entering the Canadian Hot 100. Qasam also marks his second appearance on Coke Studio Nu.WAV following Dil, the platform’s opening release.
Behind both the music and the video is Abdullah Kasumbi, whose work as a producer and director allows Qasam’s sonic and visual worlds to develop as part of the same creative idea. As co-founder of creative studio FT.WA, Kasumbi has built a body of work spanning music production, visual direction and live performance.
Executive produced by Kamal Khan, Qasam is produced, arranged and mixed by Abdullah Kasumbi, with Gul Khan on sarangi and Sean Tallman handling mastering.
Kasumbi also directs the music video, working with Babar Dahr on cinematography, Hammad Sohail on production design, Faraz Sheikh and Team on styling, Naweera Azeiz on Shae Gill’s look, and Shams Mansur and Shaan-e-Qasim Mansur on movement. Gali Films leads production, with Iman Khan, Jamal Haroon, Zarmeen Ali, Taimur Aamir and Fariha Afzal forming the core production team.
Qasam is the fifth of six Coke Studio Nu.WAV releases, following Dil, Rangeen, Maheya and Shabnam, with the final release and its creative world set to unfold next.
Watch Qasam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCQ1MfeI2d0
Listen: https://open.spotify.com/album/4q5WpIQxf8CdHmihsCJGmM
In the meantime, follow https://www.instagram.com/coke_studio for the Coke Studio Nu.WAV journey.
