The Return of Cloud89: A Tribute to Pakistani Music

CityFM89 has emphasized the importance of preserving and showcasing Pakistan's musical heritage since its establishment in 2004. The station's popular show, Cloud89, which ran from 2004 to 2019 and then again in 2022 to celebrate Pakistan's 75th anniversary, has provided a platform for this mission. The show's 17 three-hour episodes, which were produced by the Red Baron Brigade, featured a range of Pakistani music from well-known genres to lesser-known styles. The objective of the show was to deepen the listeners' appreciation of Pakistani music and to raise awareness about the country's rich musical heritage. With the exception of the five-hour episode that aired on Independence Day, the remaining 16 episodes were each three hours long and focused on successive decades of music. The musicians and vocalists featured on the show included Akhtar Chenaal Zehri, Rashid Attre, Noor Jehan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Ali Zafar, among others. The main challenge in creating the show was shortlisting the 600 to 700 songs from a collection of over 500,000, while ensuring the quality of the music remained consistent. The primary objective was to spread awareness of the great music of Pakistan and leave listeners with a sense of both the variety and depth of the country's music.