The Eli/Ali Project. Israeli artiste Eliezer Cohen Botzer (left) with Indian singer Lucky Ali.
Singer-songwriter Maqsood Mahmood Ali aka Lucky Ali, 64, has given us some of the most melodious music, both independent and in Bollywood, over the last two decades, including Na Tum Jano Na Hum, O Sanam, Sunoh, Ek Pal Ka Jeena, Hairat, Aa Bhi Ja, Aahista Aahista, Safarnama.
Recently, he collaborated with Israeli artiste Eliezer Cohen Botzer, 42, for the third time, with the song Virtuality that holds a special significance in today’s world as it talks about the importance of being offline, staying grounded, keeping away from digital addiction and the dangers of living in a virtual world. In an interview to Moneycontrol, the artistes talk about what's unique about the song. Edited excerpts:
This is your third collaboration (after On My Way and Amaraya) together. What does the song talk about and what inspired you to create this song?
Eliezer Cohen Botzer: At the lowest point on Earth, under a full moon, the soft rhythmic lapping of the Dead Sea whispered about the mysteries of the universe. Vision and understanding expanded and immediately brought forth poetry and song. This revelation happened to me and our friend and producer Bob Stark that night and we coined the term “virtuality” to express the state of consciousness when virtual reality becomes reality. The state of “virtuality” is where nothing is as it seems, where the connection between human consciousness and truth has been supplanted by artificial intelligence and falsehood.
We see this assault on truth and reality as potentially fatal to society, a technological pandemic, and have responded by urging humanity to touch the ground again to seek the light of truth and to stop objectifying our existence at the hands of technology.
Lucky Ali: When you get into the music it’s more about… ‘and we go from here, how would that sound.’ You get excited about such things, what can you make out of it, what comes out of it and when it does become something, it is by god’s grace, it is something that everybody enjoys, including the people who are working on it.
A still from Virtuality music video.
The Virtuality's mixed-media music video is shot and set in Ukraine, amid the ongoing war. Why choose a war-torn background, considering the war isn't over yet?
Lucky Ali: It was a surprise for me, it was all Eli and the whole team. It’s a world-class video. That should express everything that I want to say. When you say it's of that calibre, it means that the work and the expression in it and the execution of it is world class. I would like Eli to tell you about this.
Eliezer Cohen Botzer: Actually, the production of the music video began in Ukraine before the war broke out and was completed in Ukraine during the war, which, unfortunately, has not yet ended. Actors and animators are all Ukrainian. The entire Virtuality team symbolises the hope found in true connection. May there be only light and unity in our beautiful world.
Eliezer, you wrote Virtuality with Bob Stark. What made you do this without your usual Hindi/Urdu and Hebrew lyrics along with English?
Eliezer Cohen Botzer: I’d say that the Eli/Ali project exists as a universal prototype of unity with diversity, which demonstrates the most powerful, meaningful, and beautiful potential of mankind. This era of global connection and communication, and the use of English, the universal language of this era, facilitate the revelation of this potential to the whole world. This project in a nutshell is an international project, created for, and devoted to the mission of unity with diversity.
Eliezer, tell us about both your strengths and what about Ali do you love the most as an artiste?
Eliezer Cohen Botzer: I admire the truth in his personality, peace and the fact that both of them are equal in him. I take huge inspiration from him. Truth is always true. Find out the true expression of the situation, that’s the way I see him. That’s how our music is! When you are a peaceful person yourself, you are a person of ‘Om Shanti’ for yourself, you are a person of ‘Salaam’ for yourself, then your expressions, your tunes, your words come from a true place because it’s always there. Even when you are not in the song, you are in the song. In every interaction you look for inspiration, true connection. Lucky always lives away at his estate, and stays in connection to nature, connection to people, that brings him new songs, that represent the era, the time. That’s why we see him as the best face that we could have got for India, since he has so much beauty and he allows us to express our huge love that we have for India.
The Eli/Ali Project.
In a collaboration like this one, what was the process involved in making the music?
Eliezer Cohen Botzer: As Lucky said a little while ago, a collaboration can truly happen when you go beyond your individual differences. So, first of all, it demands true relationship, true sensitivity towards each other. This also explains how we look at Lucky as an individual and as an artist. Being an individual artist is like discovering more inspiration from yourself, however, this collaboration has the same kind of intense inspiration but from another person. It means that you suddenly believe your emotions in the same way, you believe in the emotions that come to your partner. And that’s why it is so beautiful to work with someone like Lucky.
This project always demanded true connection. Everyone who has been involved in this project is a family. That’s why we recorded few instruments in India and few in Israel. That’s why it took time for mixing. To fix the singing or sometimes we wanted a particular word or sentence to be said in a certain way, and we could do changes in the same song and create more songs and that’s our movement and that’s why we artists are all in as it demands sensitivity towards others.
What I exercise as an artist in my life is my individual growth with teamwork for sure, as a singer and songwriter… here to go (work) with another singer, songwriter who is a legend himself, it's a new discovery for me and it’s beautiful.
Lucky, this is your first ever English song. Why an English song at this point in your career?
Lucky Ali: Why not?
A still from Virtuality music video.
Tell us about your current and upcoming projects.
Lucky Ali: Sayyah is about your journey between these times, the traveller and the stranger and all the spaces I identify with. They are all there in that, (goes on to quote the lines) Saat sitaraon ka majma hai pyaara, jab dekhoon main gaur se kabhi, deta hai yeh mujhko ishaara ke jaana hai tumko vahin…