Alice Whittington, better known as Norsicaa, is not only a multi-talented artist on the musical front, she is also a label manager, DJ and producer. She has a regular residency at Soho Radio in her home town of London, where she is making a big impact on the local music scene. Her work at the prestigious Soundway Records has had a major influence on her search for new music. She is constantly inspired to discover new genres, instruments and languages and appreciates the diversity of artists and their influences.

She grew up with two musicians as parents, which of course had a strong influence on her path into the world of music. Her own musical journey, however, began with groovy soul, funk and hip-hop. Although she can’t remember whether her first record was D’Angelo’s »Voodoo« or Daft Punk’s »Discovery«—both very important to her and both having a lasting influence on her musical tastes—her very first CD was definitely The Fugees’ »The Score«.

Her organized chaos

Today, Norsicaa likes to lose herself in different genres. Italo disco, amapiano, breakbeat and Asian funk are just a few examples. Her early passion for hip hop, drum’n’bass and street soul is still very much alive. Current favourites in her collection include the Sam Dons compilation »Just A Touch« and Barbara Hernandez’s »All Night Tonight«.

Norsicaa’s love of music is reflected in her record collection. Having moved around a lot, she has kept her material possessions to a minimum and now counts around 1,000 vinyl records, 6,000 digital albums and more than 40,000 songs. She shares a collection of around 5,000 records with her partner, which is organised according to a system that only she really understands. She affectionately calls it her »organised chaos«. She only buys records for her sets that evoke deep emotions in her, not out of a passion for collecting.

When asked what her wish for the future is, Norsicaa doesn’t have to think for long: world peace. She’d also like to see consumers put more pressure on streaming and social media companies to pay artists more. This year, she’s particularly excited about the release of her own compilation on Soundway, which will showcase funk, pop and disco from the 70s and 80s in Southeast Asia. It’s due out at the end of the summer.