During a recent conversation with us, singer-songwriter Lucky Ali confessed that he has been mulling stepping away from the recording studio in order to do things “that I want to do, and I haven’t done, yet”. Ali says, “I am not exactly saying no to music, but I don’t know how long it’s going to be for, in the future.”

While the 63-year-old doesn’t say that his upcoming series of tracks, starting with Intezaar, would be his swansong, he thought of stepping away much before the upcoming compilation took shape.

“I have been thinking of it (retiring) for a long time. I think of it as more of a responsibility than anything else. When my kids started their music label, I thought I was on my way out. I was prepared for it,” he says.

The Coronavirus pandemic helped him have some major realisations, says the singer, as he was happy that “no concerts were happening”. “I was like ‘Chalo, holiday’,” he laughs and explains further, “I was just happy for the fact that I don’t have to go anywhere. The last few years have been very tough. To be on the road constantly is not easy. You travel hundreds of miles and it takes a lot of energy from you.”

The singer, whose last album, Lemalla, marked his collaboration with Israeli musician Eliezer Cohen Botzer in 2019, goes on to highlight the impact live shows have had on his “physical and mental well-being”. “You go to a completely new place. Of course, all of it is nice and comfortable. But, it’s not home. My neck hurts because of the pillow, or the bed. I can’t sleep on new beds. So, [because of] all of these things, I think it (the wish to retire) is happening,” he signs off.