What happens when you dare to walk through your own reflection? That’s the question Colombian artist, Ali Stone, poses in her latest album, A través del espejo (Through the Looking Glass). A project as immersive as it is introspective. But beyond its lush production and genre-bending tracks, the album also reveals something many fans might not know: Ali Stone didn’t just write and produce the songs, she also directed her own videos, edited the visuals, and even designed the cover artwork, which features her great-grandmother’s piano, an instrument she still plays today.
From the raw honesty in “CRTA” to the nostalgic power chords in her emo-era collab “SRNA” with Paty Cantú, Ali Stone builds an autobiographical soundscape that travels through time. “I’m still the same, I’m still Alicia,” she sings, anchoring the album in both memory and evolution. She describes the project as a journey inward, one sparked by a moment of creative clarity that hit her like lightning. In just a few days, Ali mapped out the entire storyline and dove headfirst into recording.
A través del espejo is a genre-fluid exploration of identity, tied together by a single thread: her. With every note, instrument, and collaboration, Ali Stone weaves a sonic map of who she’s been and who she’s become. And yes, there are Easter eggs along the way, hidden references, astrological nods, and numerological patterns that only add to the album’s layered meaning. “It’s all connected,” she says.
Welcome to Ali Stone’s world. It’s vulnerable, visionary, and vibrantly hers.
INTERVIEW: ALI STONE TURNS MEMORY INTO MELODY ON HER MOST AMBITIOUS PROJECT YET
YOU’VE SAID THIS ALBUM IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR PERSONAL AND MUSICAL JOURNEY. WAS THERE A TURNING POINT OR DEFINING MOMENT THAT INSPIRED THIS CREATIVE PROCESS?
ALI STONE: Yes! It was honestly like a moment of divine inspiration. The whole concept for the album came to me on February 16. The full storyline just poured out of me, as if I was writing a thesis or a book. By February 20, I was already recording the songs.
This project builds on Pandora, my previous album, which was about introspection, about opening your own Pandora’s box and looking in the mirror. With A través del espejo, I asked: What happens if I step through that mirror? What if I go beyond the reflection and into the core of who I am?
It became almost like a self-directed psychoanalysis. When you first look at yourself, you see the surface. But if you stare a little longer, you start to notice the subtle details. That’s what this album is about, going deeper. You can’t physically walk through a mirror, but in this imaginative world I created, I decided to do just that. It’s a journey inward, into the past, into all the musical stages that shaped me. The idea came to me so effortlessly that I truly felt like I had reached a moment of complete clarity.
WE SEE THE STORY BEHIND THE ARTIST IN THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR CRTA, NOT JUST IN THE LYRICS, BUT ALSO IN THE CHILDHOOD CLIPS YOU INCLUDED. IN THE SONG, YOU SAY “SOY LA MISMA, SIGO SIENDO ALICIA” (“I’M THE SAME, I’M STILL ALICIA”). AND WE SEE THAT ESSENCE THERE, BUT HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE ALI STONE’S EVOLUTION AS AN ARTIST?
ALI STONE: I think A través del espejo really captures my growth, starting from the very beginning, you hear my inception as an artist in the first track. As a musician I began with classical piano, and over the years, I’ve evolved into someone who’s incredibly eclectic.
I’ve always been open to exploring new sounds, new genres, and I think that curiosity is part of my identity. Even if I shift from rock to tropical rhythms, or from industrial sounds to electronic music, there’s a consistent thread that ties it all together: me. I’m behind every instrument, every production decision, every note.
This album moves through all those phases: from classical piano, to tropical rhythms, to progressive metal, pop-rock, industrial, electronic… It’s like painting with all the colors that come out of my hands. And although the genres vary, each song carries pieces of the others. No track is 100% one thing, it’s always a blend. That fusion is what makes it authentically mine.
YOU ALSO REVISITED YOUR EMO PHASE IN THE SONG WITH PATY CANTÚ. WAS THERE A MOMENT FROM THAT TIME THAT YOU ENJOYED RELIVING?
ALI STONE: Totally. The song SRNA with Paty Cantú is rooted in my 2009 emo phase. I was about 15 or 16 at the time. It was a defining era for me: a bit lonely, but full of music that empowered me. I was a guitarist for other artists in Colombia back then. I even wrote a graduation speech in high school about my alter ego as a guitar-playing superhero. Music made me feel powerful, it turned me from a shy girl into someone fearless.
I was listening to artists like Panda, Don Tetto, Blink-182, Avril Lavigne, Green Day, and other musicians who shaped me. Paty was a mirror for that moment in my life. Now, not only have we collaborated, but we’ve also become close friends. That makes the full-circle moment even more beautiful.
The same goes for working with MelyMel and Tony Succar. They’re mirrors too, icons I looked up to, especially in the tropical and urban genres. Mely is literally known as the mother of rap, and Tony’s incredible, especially with his salsa work with his mom, Mimy. They were pioneers I admired, and now they’re collaborators and friends. That evolution is part of the dream.
Every song and collaboration on the album was intentional, nothing was random. Each person, each rhythm, represents something meaningful from my musical journey.
WHICH ONE IS ALI STONE’S GO-TO INSTRUMENT?
ALI STONE: That’s a tough one! I play over 15 instruments now, but piano and guitar are like extensions of me. Guitar feels like my second voice, while piano was my very first instrument, I started when I was four. In Pandora, the guitar was the glue throughout the album. For this project, I wanted the piano to be the thread tying every song together. Even the most cinematic tracks feature it. Some songs, like FLDA, are built only around piano and voice.
That’s why I’m at the piano on the album cover, it’s the only instrument present in every track. Others come and go, but the piano remains constant. It was really important to me that the audience visually and sonically felt that continuity.
WHICH MUSICAL PIECE HOLDS THE MOST SENTIMENTAL VALUE?
ALI STONE: The piano on the album cover belonged to my great-grandmother and it’s still part of my life. I also grew up surrounded by other family pianos, like my mom’s, my grandmother’s, my uncles’. Music has always been in the air.
Now, in L.A., I use Roland pianos, they’re amazing and super convenient since they don’t require tuning. But my dream instrument is this futuristic grand piano by Roland that looks like a spaceship, it even won an award at NAMM. I’d love to have that one day when I have a bigger house.
THERE’S A LOT OF SYMBOLISM BEHIND YOUR ALBUM: NUMEROLOGY IN SINGLE RELEASES, HIDDEN TRACKS IN THE VINYL EDITION, SECRET TITLES. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE FANS CAN DISCOVER?
ALI STONE: Everything is connected, literally everything. For example, each song represents a year of my life. Track 3 references 2013, the year my career as Ali Stone officially began. That year I did a Disney remix for Monsters University, where the tempo slows and a ticking clock starts. That exact moment is mirrored in the song. I shared this on my Instagram stories recently because I realized most people wouldn’t catch it otherwise. I joked that I need to make a PDF guide for my album, honestly, I might!
Visually, there are more “Easter eggs” too. In the video for the track with Paty, we walk through fire and air, referencing her album Sagitario and my sign, Gemini. At the end, we swap elements—she ends with air, I end with fire. It’s symbolic of how we’ve influenced each other and how our energies merge.
The final track, MRVA, represents the connection between life and death. In the video, I appear twice, once in a white dress, once in black, symbolizing heaven and earth. That’s also a nod to my astrology: I’m a Gemini (air), but my rising and moon signs are Capricorn (earth). So the visual cues are deeply intentional.
I wanted this album to be an immersive universe where every detail tells part of my story.
NEXT: EXPERIENCING ALI STONE’S SOUNDTRACK TO THE SELF
Ali Stone continues to roll out singles from A Través del Espejo, inviting listeners to dive deeper into her sonic universe. The full album is now available on all major streaming platforms, where fans can experience her musical journey track by track.
For those looking to uncover hidden gems and Easter eggs woven throughout the project, the limited-edition vinyl, complete with exclusive secrets, is available for purchase here.
Keep following this multifaceted artist as she gears up for her upcoming tour and brings her immersive world to the stage.
Interview by: Sahula Rebecca Diaz-Castrejón
Photos by: Courtesy of The 3 Collective
