Lucky Ali and Botzer Release Reflective New Song ‘Amaraya’

A deeper connection between Indian artist Lucky Ali and Israeli singer-composer Eliezer Cohen Botzer emerges on their enchanting new song “Amaraya.” Recorded as part of the forthcoming collaborative album Lemalla, this is the duo’s second single together following 2019’s “On My Way.”

In addition to featuring Hebrew and Hindi lyrics, the careening hook in “Amaraya” sung by Ali and Botzer is in Arabic. Over a video call, the veteran Indian voice says that he can read Arabic but doesn’t speak it. “It has a lot of range. I was more or less humble about that, because I don’t want to say the wrong thing and a small thing could change a lot in that environment,” Ali adds about singing in Arabic.

The duo invoke ideas of divinity and spirituality but connect it to matters of the heart and how human beings are all reflections of each other. “The song has an energy of praying together and feeling one with every human, across culture and religion,” Botzer says. The song was among the material written and recorded while Botzer was in India in 2017. Their album Lemalla may be a project that’s slow cooked, but the artists note that their collaboration is “one without time.” Botzer says, “The development of this project is still ongoing. We still have songs that we’ve not completed. It relates all the time to where we are.” Ali adds that it’s a “work in progress” and that remains one of his favorite parts about the project. “We’ve reached a certain point but there’s much more to explore,” the singer says.

Featuring co-writers and co-composers Ori Avni and Uzair Abdul Aleem, “Amaraya” brings together heightened melodies to match Ali and Botzer’s vocals, spirited percussion to drive in a rhythm and a poignant flute lead from Annada Prasanna Pattanaik. Ali says that portion of the song was entirely created by Pattanaik (also called Butto), who is part of the singer’s band. “You didn’t have to tell Butto ji what he will find out. When the vibe is right, only then it is recorded. You don’t tell teachers, they find out for themselves,” Ali says.

While performing together may have been on the cards previously, there’s still some figuring out to do now in the midst of the global pandemic. Nevertheless, Ali terms performing with Botzer as “a great thing to accomplish.” He adds, “When the direction opens, then we adapt to what is required to go in that direction. It’s pretty grand, the ideas involved in this but in a humble way.”

More songs from Lemalla are expected in the coming months, even as Ali hints at more virtual performances from him as well as songs in his catalog. “[These are] songs that are not yet released or songs that are released and I didn’t know what to do with them, because I just wanted to experiment so many years ago, with a system that was not yet ready.”

Watch the video for “Amaraya” below. Stream on more platforms here.