A travel song for the soul

Lucky Ali's latest hit number is a traveller's song, and indeed, journey seems to be a favourite motif of this maverick musician, writes Rashmi Vasudeva

When a reporter asked the famously elusive Lucky Ali why he has been on a such a long musical hiatus, he said, “sometimes, it takes a lifetime.”

So it does.

But thankfully, this time around, it has taken him only five years. Ali is soon coming out with a new album ‘Lemalla’, in which he is collaborating for the first time with Israeli artiste Eliezer Cohen Botzer. The two have talked about ‘building bridges of understanding’ through this confluence.

Weigh all that heavy solemnity against what this joint project is called —‘EliAli’, and you know the songs are going to be sometimes jaunty, sometimes profound, but always an unearthing.

In fact, a single from the album ‘On My Way’ is out on YouTube and has gathered over 4,50,000 views already. Typically irreverent, the song takes you on, what else, a journey.

Botzer has earlier described it as a ‘traveller’s song’ and “a prayer within a journey”.

Listen to it and you will perhaps dream of wild, desolate landscapes like I did and yearn to leave everything behind and go elsewhere.

For the ones who have grown up on Lucky Ali’s chartbuster ‘O Sanam’ and other hits from his albums like ‘Sunoh’ and ‘Sifar’, the journey motif comes as no surprise.

We have all seen this beatnik musician traverse difficult terrains; but never without a song on his weather-beaten lips and a curious quest in his light eyes.

Play By Ear will showcase a potential earworm every week for you, the discerning listener, who is on the hunt for some musical serendipity and is keen to explore genres beyond pop and Bollywood. Write to us at [e-mail].