Focalistic. Picture: Instagram
On Thursday night, Coca-Cola brought in the new iteration of Coke Studio with an exclusive launch event at Joburg’s Hard Rock Café.
The event included a panel discussion hosted by media personality Moozlie. Focalistic and up-and-coming duo Major Steeze also formed part of the panel discussion as they shared their excitement to be involved in the programme.
During the discussion, the panel spoke of how African music is the moment and the brand is looking forward to providing a platform for the continent's talent to shine globally.
The global Coke Studio programme is digital-first, always-on, and provides an opportunity for creative talents to partner, create and deliver new and exclusive creative collisions to new and existing audiences, the brand shared.
Launched internationally in May of this year, Coke Studio brought seven international artists together for a re-recording of Queen’s iconic “Kind of Magic” under the title “Conductor”.
“This global creative collision was born from the philosophy that in our unique differences lies our magic – it is in the real magic of creative collaboration that we find the collision, the impact that feeds new ideas and captures new minds,” shared Coke Studio.
Coke Studio also enlisted a diverse collection of talent that include Grammy-nominated American R&B star Ari Lennox, British singer-songwriter Griff, Turkish electro-pop producer Ekin Beril and Nigerian singer-songwriter and producer Tems.
“Here in South Africa, Coke Studio will come to life with some of the top talented local artists reimagining their hottest tracks into new and unique musical experiences,” they added.
“Collaborating with these artists, Coke Studio brings fans mash-ups of their favourite music and content, helping bring about deeper connections through music.”
After the discussion DJ Zinhle got the party started with a typically impressive DJ set that brought people to the dance floor. She was later joined on stage by Zuma and Reece Madlisa.
Focalistic and Ch’cco also provided a high energy performance that saw them perform solo sets along with a joint performance of “Sjepa”, before RnB sensation Lloyiso closed off the evening.