Photos by Essie
Ali Allocco, the face behind Worrystone, is a 23-year-old singer songwriter and the breath of fresh air we all need on our 2021 playlists. With two singles out and a third on the way, Worrystone captures the epitome of dreamy, summer nostalgia in her music. Learn about Ali as we talk about her upcoming single, Sheila, and what inspired her to start writing and producing music.
Melodic Mag: On your Instagram, you stated that just a few years ago, you weren’t writing music, playing instruments, or producing music. What made you want to start?
Worrystone: It’s really funny actually. I’ve always wanted to play music so very badly! But, I just never knew how to play an instrument and I was totally discouraged. But then one day, I was at my friend’s recording studio, and another friend was asking my friend James how to play the riff Freaking Out The Neighborhood from the Mac Demarco song. He started showing him [how to play] and I was like, “Give me a guitar!” Obviously I could not do that at all. So, for a month straight, I just played that one riff until I got it. From there, I couldn’t be stopped.
MM: I noticed that both of your songs were released in 2020. Has quarantine allowed you to focus more on your music career?
W: Definitely. It’s gonna be so weird when it’s not quarantine, I think. I’ve never performed live. Being trapped at home, I made so many songs. It was a really productive time for me. At the same time, I’m just wondering what the world will be like after this, when I actually have to do this stuff in front of people.
MM: What made you choose the name “Worrystone”?
W: So, when I was a little kid, I was super anxious, as I still am… right now [laughs]. My mom, whenever she would go to work, she’d give me a literal worrystone, which is a glass stone. You can rub your thumb on it and it’s supposed to sooth you. And that’s always kind of stuck with me, and it just seemed really fitting and very true to myself.
MM: Your songs have a very kind of dreamy, summery, nostalgic essence to them. Where do you mainly get your music inspiration from?
W: I would say my inspiration stems from other female artists around my age. I’ve always loved Clairo, beabadoobee, and Soccer Mommy. I know a lot of their music may not be considered “dreamy,” but I’m a very soft-spoken person. And I feel like it was so natural to be dreamy about it. Dreams also hold a lot of weight to me. I’ve always liked interpreting my dreams. So, it felt natural to go with that soundscape.
MM: It’s amazing how you can actually translate that to your songs.
W: I owe a lot of that my producer/best friend/collaborator, Justin. When I first started making music, I was just recording myself on Garageband. I was really shy about it first, since it can be very vulnerable thing to make music. When I brought it to Justin, he said, “We can do so much with this.” He really adds that dreamy-ness.
MM: Do you have a specific writing process that you go through anytime you create a song?
W: To me, writing songs is such a complicated process. A year ago, I would have written 30 seconds of a song. This week, I’ll go back to that 30 seconds and think, “How can I change this? How can I steal that chord progression from that other song I was working on and put it here?” It’s never been a quick, streamlined process for me. But I kind of like that because the songs tend to grow with me and remain relevant to what’s going on in my life.
MM: Do you have any hints as to what your upcoming song “Sheila” is about?
Sheila is a song for simps. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the concept of a “torch song.” A torch song is the most pathetic version of yourself in love that you wouldn’t want to admit to your friends. Someone has wronged you so many times, but you’re like, “Ugh, if they just called me I would go right back.” I think Sheila is my torch song/simp song. I think a lot of people have simped for those who don’t deserve it.
MM: Can we look forward to an EP or album in the near future?
W: I am slowly hashing away at an EP. Justin and I have been honing in on our sound and have been revisiting those quarantine songs that I have put together and just kind of making them more Worrystone. I think we are starting to really figure out what we want to sound like.
Worrystone’s upcoming single Sheila is out June 25th. Presave here!
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