Hear Lucky Ali and Israeli Artist Eliezer Botzer Collaborate on the Soulful ‘On My Way’
The Indo-Israeli collaboration has also led to a full-length album called ‘Lemalla’
Singer-composers Lucky Ali and Eliezer Cohen Botzer team up for a new album called 'Lemalla.' Photo: Revital Topiol
On the folksy, cinematic song “On My Way,” Indian singer and pop artist Lucky Ali and Israeli artist Eliezer Cohen Botzer take on the idea of confluence and fusion. It was in 2017 that the two artists met, introduced by Botzer’s producer and friend Bob Stark. The EliAli project, who are now set to release an album called Lemalla, was born out of “trying to build the bridge of understanding,” as Ali puts it in a behind the scenes video.
Botzer says while he was actively seeking out a collaboration with an Indian musician, Ali was the best fit. The Israeli artist adds over an email interview, “Meeting Lucky surpassed all my expectations. I was amazed by Lucky’s personality. He is a rare artist, a teacher and a true inspiration. Lucky has a wise perspective of life that is expressed in his care of humanity. His beautiful personality spreads simple love…”
A veteran voice in India for Bollywood as well as his own material, Lucky Ali says he “didn’t think too much” about accepting Botzer’s invitation to collaborate. Over the course of nearly three years, Lemalla began taking shape between Tel Aviv and Bengaluru, aided by supporting musicians and recording engineers in both countries. Ali recalls how Botzer’s team landed at his farm in Bengaluru, “And then we became friends, that was the natural course of things. And that’s how music happens, you can only make music if you’re friends and there is love and understanding… Angry people can’t be making music.”
In the video directed by filmmakers Dvir Keren and Chinkx Bug, “On My Way” features footage of Bengaluru and Tel Aviv and both Ali and Botzer meeting and singing. Botzer says of the track, “It’s a traveler’s song, a song of dialog among friends and prayer within the journey. Distance makes me miss home, and traveling with an open heart makes everywhere we go, home.”
Through behind the scenes footage, listeners can get a glimpse of Lemalla, with tracks like “Amaraya, “In My Life” and “Virtuality.” They range from rock to fusion and folk, featuring lyrics in English, Hindi and Hebrew. Botzer adds that when lyrics were being discussed and translated amongst the musicians, there was already an understanding of the emotion behind the words. “Even without knowing the text. It felt like an intuition becoming fruitful and true,” the artist says.
With “On My Way” already chalking up over 450,000 views on YouTube, Lemalla will receive a release in the coming months song by song with more videos. Botzer answers an obvious question about taking his collaboration with Ali to the stage, “Performing together is on the cards. We are all very excited by this new joint adventure.”
Watch the video for “On My Way” below.
