"The song ‘I’m Sticking Around’ has a special place in my heart because it’s a tribute song to the Torah"
The new LUCKY album from 8TH DAY hit the stores two weeks ago, with songs including favorites like “Rolling,” a remix of “Tracht Gut,” and the hugely popular “Elika D’Meir,” joined by new material — songs and ballads — that showcase the incredible talent of the gifted duo.
Bentzi Marcus looks back to the time of the Covid lockdown, when they had to work with a full string section in the studio — each person socially-distanced in their own soundproof room — and others playing virtually from Israel, New York, and Las Vegas. He remembers how “the only way we could communicate was through the mics and headphones.”
The songs pulse with soul and emotion as well as that inimitable energy that 8th Day has always been famous for. Bentzi says that the most fun song to work on was “Build the Groove” — “because we did just that. We had the basic idea for a simple groove, with a guitar riff, then we got into the studio with bass legend and producer Bruce Witkin and a drummer and just jammed out the rest of the song. We added in drums and bass, then just kept building each part, adding keys, synth, and eventually string sections.”
The attention to detail, with each mix redone to perfection, is striking in the final product.
Shmueli is happy to share which song he’s most excited about. “The song ‘I’m Sticking Around’ has a special place in my heart because it’s a tribute song to the Torah. The songs you write while you are in yeshivah are great, but the songs you write many years later should reflect some growth, something should evolve. I feel that my relationship with the Torah has matured. For me, the song represents a point in my life where I open a sefer not because I’m hearing my teacher’s voice or to do homework with my son. I open it for what’s written in it: the Torah itself. Like the song says, ‘I’m sticking around, and You’re the reason.’ My absolute favorite line in the song is ‘Slices of Heaven you could hold in your hand.’ That describes what a sefer is.”
(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 882)
