Stamp! Beats: Getting Started

After enjoying a positive start to 2010 with our remix of DJ Zinc’s 'Killa Sound' (featuring No-lay) peaking on the Beatport Electro House chart at No.6 and the vinyl selling extremely well (no doubt helped by the Skream remix being on the flip!), we were approached to remix Roisin Murphy. There were various issues once the remix was finished, so eventually it got blogged. Our version of 'Mommas Place' went on to notch up a decent amount of downloads as well as be picked up by The Times Online (thanks to Ed at B.M.B!) and supported by Toddla T, who subsequently championed it on his then new Radio 1 show. Both these remixes provided a sturdy backbone for the early months of 2010, a small profile boost with some international gigs, and demonstrated a more mature approach to HeavyFeet's output for a new year.

Prior to the launch of Stamp! Beats it had been decided that a new division of HeavyFeet would be founded to facilitate the important promotional needs of the label. Firmsole was created as an umbrella company and managed by Mike Kelly (our manager) with Mike HF over seeing the bulk of the PR responsibilities aided by prior experience working in this area. The areas targeted by our promotional campaign were set to physical music media, radio, club/DJ, online music media and blogs. Each area needed separate attention, and with a pre-exisiting and continually building contact base, we slowly started to penetrate these mediums with news of the label's launch and the necessary monthly Stamp! Beats release. 

To further emphasise our Manchester roots, we chose to enlist the help of the fantastic Jenna G in completing our second single on Stamp! Beats. To have the vocalists involved that we did on the first two releases was important for us in re-establishing our position in the Manchester scene and our intent to work with fellow Mancunians in a progressive and collaborative way, something which we felt was of benefit to us before collaborating with artists on a national and worldwide scale, as we would go on to do as the '12 x 12' process developed. It was important to us to build a solid local foundation and grow outwards.

The plan of Jenna voicing a track for us had come around several months prior to her coming into the studio, but at this stage of the process of writing for and recording with vocalists we were quite particular about our creations and maybe tried too hard to get a track we felt was perfect and had little or no chance of being rejected by a potential vocalist. Hence there was quite a period before we were entirely ready to move forward. Interestingly, what we'd created was released as the 'club mix' of 'War', way before the original mix had been created, so Jenna wrote and recorded to that version, which in hindsight is not something we'd ever attempt to do again or advise anyone else to try really!