I do it out of love, says Lucky Ali

“Lucky, you’re special!” screamed a fan as the long-haired Indipop star stirred souls with his music at the TimeOut 72 festival. Lucky Ali’s response? “Everyone is special. Everyone is a hero or heroine of their own story,” inviting rah-rah from his fans. Earnest as that statement was, a conversation with him can tilt towards being wistful and moony, much like his music (think Mil Jaane Se Kabhi or Baadlon Ki Gehrai). 

As we catch up with the singer backstage, Lucky talks about how he looks at music, his upcoming works, and why he’s slowing down when it comes to live performances. 

Famed for albums like Sunoh, Aks, and Sifar, among others, the recluse, who moved to Bengaluru and became a farmer, says that it was the location that made him say yes to the gig. “I love coming to Goa. It always reminds me of my childhood when we used to come here as a family and spend a lot of time at the beaches, especially Calangute. I don’t do many concerts. I did this because I wanted to check out the sea as I have been going to the mountains a lot. It’s a nice time to be here and the boys (his band members) also wanted to come,” he explains. The singer adds, “I don’t see myself doing much more than I already am. I want to tone it down a bit and record and compose more.”

Gigs for travelling

For him, shows have become more about the travels and meeting people.  

Anyone who follows Lucky on social media will have read about his love for the mountains. “I like going to undiscovered places. The culture varies from hill to hill, so there is a lot of that to take in. Generally, there is simplicity and the will to keep a celebration going on in the people of the hills and the seas; it’s in between where a lot of our processes happen that...” he trails off, “The weather’s hot,” he laughs.

Slowing down

The singer admits that he is not as stoked about going on stage as much as he used to be. “I’ve come to a point where I’m glad I’ve done what I’ve done but I’m not this. I’ve enjoyed music as a serious hobby. I don’t look at it as a profession. I do it out of love. Whatever I have sung about, or still sing, means something to me,” he says, adding that he doesn’t perform more than 15 per cent of the tracks that he has composed. “I want to keep the set that we enjoy as a band,” says the man whose on-stage showmanship is his music. A vocalist when he’s on stage or in the recording studio, Lucky also plays the keyboard and guitar while he sings, anything that he can “get a nice sound out of.”

Collaborations are about vibes

For Lucky, sharing the stage and creating music with someone is all about vibes. “When people understand your vibe and what you’re trying to say through your music, and also very important are the headspace and the ‘heart’ space,” he offers. One such similarity of thought process led him to collaborate with Israeli musician Eliezer Botzer recently. “He does meaningful music. He was in India last month with his crew. We did some work together and found similarities in our ideas — he is very connected to the land like me,” he says, “We will release the tracks we recorded from Tel Aviv as I’m not comfortable releasing my music from here anymore because we are very dishonest,” Lucky says, referring to music corporations and not musicians making money. For that reason, he tells us that he will release songs on the internet for his fans.

‘I’m a farmer’

One of the reasons why one doesn’t see enough of Lucky live or releasing music is his farming. “I’m a farmer and I take that very seriously. Farming is ann (food) for me. Music is more about journeys, singing, and sharing your songs. When it’s festivals it’s enjoyable,” he says. Keeping him busy these days is growing vegetables. “I have a company with a friend. We released an app that bridges the gap between farmers and people who buy goods from them,” he added.

Upcoming works

Since he has decided to compose more, we ask if we can expect an album soon, considering the last one he dropped was Raastaman in 2011. Lucky says, “I don’t think I will release an album as such because it’s not the kind of time that you can release 10 tracks like you did earlier. I still need to decide if and how I want to release the new music, or if I will just play it at my gigs.” He has lent his voice to songs like Safarnama (Tamasha), Hairat (Anjaana Anjaani) and many more. However, composing for films is not in the scheme of things as of now. “I don’t understand what’s going on in cinema these days. Some day, I don’t know, I probably will,” he signs off.