Virtuality, new single by Lucky Ali speaks of domination of AI on human society

It was German playwright Bertolt Brecht who famously wrote ldquoWill there be singing in the dark times Yes There will be singing about the dark timesrdquo The latest single from singer Lucky Ali and Israeli composer Eliezer Botzerrsquos Eli Ali Project which was released on June 6 stands testament to this Titled Virtuality the song touches upon the growing domination of Artificial Intelligence on human society but it was a wholly human conflict that came in the way of its creationLucky Ali and Eliezer BotzerThe project began in 2017 Ali informs us when the composer visited Israel where producer Bob Stark introduced the duo ldquoThe album Lemalla is basically a dialogue between two people across the globerdquo the singer explains For Botzer the songs are a product of the musical relationship ldquoEvery song speaks about different aspects of life Virtuality is a song that expresses the truth of technology todayrdquo he saysThe conflictYet it is not the soft popfolk synth of the composition that sets it apart Rather it is the context of its art emerging from amidst an international conflict that makes for an interesting story Botzer shares that the production team chose to collaborate with artists in Ukraine to animate and shoot the music video for the song ldquoI liked the concept of how they structured it I look at it now and I realise the amount of work that would have gone into itrdquo he saysAn animated moment from the video Pics CourtesyYouTubeThe shoot began in 2021 and was almost into the completion stages when the Russian advancement began in November 2022 Botzer reveals Sasha Prilutsky director of the video who coordinated with the team in Ukraine says ldquoBefore the war Ukraine was a dreamland for me it was a place where I could do more for the same budget and fulfil my creative expression in the best way possiblerdquoCreating art while in the darknessThe conflict almost thwarted it Ali notes that while the geography is not relevant to the song itself the conflict adds to the context and makes the creation process admirablePrilutsky elaborates that the animated portion of the concept kept developing over the shoot When the conflict broke out the project was stalled ldquoAt first we kept silent understanding it the video was not the most crucial thing to deal with while our friends were struggling for their lives But we were approached by the team leaders Stas and Kukushkin mdash the producer and the animation artist who felt that the agenda was more relevant than ever now and they wanted to bring it to life through the darkness they were experiencing in their everyday liferdquo he remarksA moment from the music video shot in UkraineAs animators left the country or went under the radar Prilutsky admits it was a challenge to keep going ldquoWhat helped us was that along the way everyone connected to what we were saying on a personal levelrdquo he recalls The director elaborates on the brief for the video saying ldquoThe flame symbolises being present and having faith We had this idea of disconnecting from everything that is not real and feels doubtful in our life symbolised by the phonerdquo The animation almost symbolically ends with the single manrsquos fight inspiring many more to join him mdash an imagery that acquires greater significance in the context of the global conflictThe philosophyFor Ali though the delays in the release of the song were almost providential ldquoLemalla means higher thought in Hebrew It is a philosophy of search Thus you cannot force it A song has to come out when it doesrdquo the singer muses philosophically With the third single on the album out Botzer has already set sights on the next one ldquoWe are already hard at work If everything goes right we will have another song out by this yearrdquo he says Of course Ali says it is the music that keeps them going ldquoIn the midst of all conflict the ideas and music have to keep going This is the lightrdquo he saysLog on to Visuality on Spotify YouTube