By Victoria Infante
Nov 21, 2024, 10:00 AM EST
For Ali Stone there is no impossible instrument. Now he has his sights set on the trumpet, the saxophone and the lute, a string instrument that has its origins in the Middle Ages and that his younger sister brought him from Africa.
“It sounds beautiful,” said the Colombian producer who has lived in Los Angeles for seven years.
Although he is now the musical brain behind albums by artists such as Francisca Valenzuela, Camila Fernández, Dana Paola and Paty Cantú, Ali’s origins were in classical music. She learned piano at age 4 and grew up in a house rich in music by artists as diverse as Abba, Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Black Sabbath, Patsy Cline and Silvio Rodríguez.
Then, in his adolescence he had a rock, metal and blues phase. He learned to play the guitar and started with a rock band; There he learned to play the drums and bass.
One day seven years ago, Ali decided he would move to the United States to continue his career. He had obtained an artist visa and without thinking twice, he threw a few clothes into his suitcase, a small keyboard and his laptop. He said goodbye to his beloved Bogotá and did not want to look back.
“I spent a long time crying [de nostalgia]until I said, ‘crying is not going to get me anywhere,’” he says.
Then he made calls, spoke to his contacts and the work started coming. Her career in Colombia supported her: in addition to having produced for several artists, she already had an album in tow called “Sexto Sentido.”
Currently, Ali is perhaps the busiest female producer in the industry and nothing makes her happier than that.
“Before I was the only woman in the studio [de música]”, said. “Now it has changed, but there is still a lot to do.”
A few months ago, he realized that he had to get back into a musical project and recorded “Pandora”, an album of seven songs that he is currently promoting. For it he received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album.
Now she plans to tour with the album and be the protagonist of her story. So those who want Ali to produce an album for them will have to wait.