Los Angeles based performer Ali Stone is one you would can’t describe in a few words.
A singer, DJ, dancer and she also mixes and masters music. She began to build her life around music from early childhood. Being four years old, she began to play classical piano. A year later, she began to study the flute, as well as solphège and music theory in a music academy where she was quickly moved to higher-level courses due to her absolute pitch.
At age seven, Ali began to play guitar with Juanes’s guitarists, who submerged her into blues, jazz, rock, and metal. She then got to work as a guitarist for renowned multi-platinum producer Stephan Galfas. Throughout her teenage years, Ali also learned to play the bass and the drums. Recently, she released her brand new single “Oculto” which sees her diversifying into techno.
We sit down with this rockstar and speak to her about her music, her experiences, her influences and a lot more!
Shivani – Hi Ali! It’s great to be speaking to you! How has 2019 treated you so far?
Ali Stone – 2019 has been pretty busy, but busy is always good haha. I’ve been going back and forth between Colombia and LA, and, besides working on my music, I’ve been working on a lot of projects for other artists. So, to this moment, 2019 has been really nice to me.
Shivani – You recently released ‘Oculto’. Congratulations on that! How has the response been to the track?
Ali Stone – Thank you! The response has been very positive, and it makes me so happy to see people saving the song and adding it to their own playlists, watching the video, etc. I’m glad that people have liked the Spanish vocals too, which isn’t very common in techno music. It’s a very personal track, so seeing all this really brings me a lot of joy.
Shivani – What inspired ‘Oculto’? And where did the idea for the name Oculto come from?
Ali Stone – ‘Oculto’ was actually inspired by my home country Colombia. I wanted to show the “hidden” elements and sounds from my culture that maybe aren’t as obvious as other Latin genres out there. So I brought the underground sounds from the capital city Bogotá, and combined them with percussions from the Caribbean, and my vocals in Spanish. Since “oculto” means “hidden”, that’s why I decided to name the track like that.
Shivani – You have always been drawn to music since you’ve been young and you know how to play multiple instruments. What about electronic music fascinated you and made you pick it to pursue your career in?
Ali Stone – I remember I used to listen to Italian electronic music on the radio when I was very little, like “California Dreamin” by Benny Benassi, “L’Amour Toujours” by Gigi D’Agostino, “Komodo” by Mauro Picotto, etc, but my real fascination for electronic music began in Paris, where I lived for a year right after I graduated from high school. I was amazed by all the sound design going on in dance music, and this made me curious to explore the world of production as well.
Shivani – You have also opened for Justin Bieber for his Purpose world tour! How did that happen? And what was the experience like?
Ali Stone – At the beginning of 2017, I got a call from the company organizing the tour asking if I was available on certain dates, but they didn’t say anything else. A week later, they called again to say Justin and his team wanted me to open the tour, which was insane to me. It was a very exciting experience; the feeling of having a stadium cheer for you and sing along with you is unreal. I was very grateful for this opportunity because it also served as a platform for me to share my music.
Shivani – Over the years you’ve performed alongside many other artists, what are some of the most inspiring things that you have learned from them?
Ali Stone – What I have appreciated the most has been that these artists, who could be divas given their fame and accomplishments, have been so nice and kind to me. And they have been so humble about their work, always with their feet on the ground. That really says a lot about a person. I love talented people, but if you add kindness, empathy, and compassion to that, I’ll love and appreciate them even more.
Shivani – With ‘Oculto’, we see you branching into a darker style of sound. Is that a direction we can see you venturing into with your releases in the future?
Ali Stone – Well, I like to play with my dark and light sides, haha, but my upcoming EP will have that darker line very present in its narrative. Especially “En Mis Manos”, the song that gives the name to the EP. If you like darker sounds, then you should definitely keep an eye out for that one!
Shivani – Have there been any specific gigs or shows that have stood out for you and held a lot of emotional value? Which one would it be and why would you pick it?
Ali Stone – I would say the Purpose Tour was very emotional, especially because I played a lot of tracks that I’d made that were unreleased at that time. So seeing people scream, jump, say my name was beyond amazing. I remember at one point asking people to light up their phones for a song I was going to perform, and right after that, I thought to myself “oh God, what if nobody lights their phone and I stand there like an idiot” haha. But then the whole stadium lit up their phones, so it was great to see people were feeling my music and connecting with me.
Shivani – What does the rest of 2019 hold in store for you?
Ali Stone – I have my EP “En Mis Manos” coming out this month, so I’m pretty excited about that! I also have some songs I’ve written and produced for other artists that are going to be released this year as well! And some shows during the summer, to accompany the release of my new EP. So be sure to follow me on my webpage alistonemusic.com or my socials @itsalistone to be up to date with everything that’ll happen this 2019.
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