Hot Stamp Talk New Single, Their Voices And More

North London siblings Poppy and Jasmine are the duo behind Hot Stamp, a project that fuses the raw pulse of punk with glossy, high-drama pop. Their debut single “Josephine” is out now and the pair kindly sat down with us: 

 

Who is in Hot Stamp and what do they play?

Poppy: Hot Stamp is the musical child of me and my sister Jasmine, she sings, I play guitar.
Then we have Roy on drums, Harry on bass.

When did you begin singing/songwriting?

Jasmine: We’ve been writing songs since we were about five or six (with a big help from our
dad at the time) The first song I wrote was called “I Want Sweets.”. Self explanatory title…

Poppy: We’ve sort of been doing it for as long as I can remember. Our dad had an early
version of logic so we all used to write songs together and he’d produce them for us. For
ages I thought he was a really successful producer and that he wrote Human by the Killers
but turns out he just remixed it for fun.

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

Poppy: We went to a lot of music festivals when we were little. There’s a story my parents
always tell of me running away at the Big Chill Festival when I was about 18 months old.
They found me half an hour later spinning plates in a tent watching Bon Iver.

Jasmine: My earliest music related memory is seeing Leonard Cohen at a festival.. I must
have been about 3, I don’t think I had any idea what was going on though.

 

You have your debut single ‘Josephine’ is out now. What was the story/inspiration behind
the track?

Poppy: It’s about a friendship gone fatally wrong.

Jasmine: I’ve always been fascinated by obsession in friendships, how intense those
dynamics can get. Even though Josephine isn’t a romantic song, I took a lot of inspiration
from Alicia Silverstone’s character in ‘The Crush’ and channelled that energy into the story.
In the real world, Josephine is actually my very loyal friend.

 

Where did you record the single and who produced it?

Poppy: Jasmine turned up with a very rough demo, but we wrote the song at Metrophonic
Studios with Mark Taylor and Pat Mascall. Then we went back with Roy and Harry for
another day to redo the drums and bass. Every time we go to that studio, I just know it’s
going to be a good day.

 

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you
get a particular sound/tone for the record?

Poppy: It’s sort of a musical playground there, I can’t remember what ended up being on the
track but we bounced from Junos to Prophets when we were working on the synth sound.
For the guitars I played a Duesenberg Starplayer, which I’ve been wanting to buy ever since.

 

Was it a difficult song to write?

Jasmine: Josephine was definitely one of the easier ones to write. Maybe one day soon we’ll
post the demo that I made first, it’s definitely been through quite a transformation.

Poppy: We wrote all the parts and then basically rearranged the whole song. The bridge
became the chorus, the pre chorus became the bridge. It was like having loads of puzzle
pieces and just trying them in various formats until it all clicked.

 

Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Poppy: I think the happiest would be Shockwave, which is weird cause we wrote it when I
was really sad. That one’s about coming out of a dark period and suddenly realising your
strength and power. Saddest is definitely the newest one, we’ve not played it live yet, it’s
called I Never Wanna See You Again, sort of self explanatory.

Jasmine: ‘Watching You Watch Her’ is definitely our most angry song.

 

Do you have any further music releases planned for 2025?

Poppy: Of course, keep an eye out starting around the end of summer.

Jasmine: Yeah, we’re aiming for three more songs this year.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

Poppy: It’s been really nice recently seeing people sing Josephine back to us, so I guess
connecting with the audience is number 1. It’s a good show if I’ve not tripped on a wire in my
stilettos.

Jasmine: 0 wardrobe malfunctions and a happy & entertained audience.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Poppy: Yes – I always play my Les Paul live, cause I’m the only guitarist in the band and it
just has such a full sound. Pedal wise, small clone chorus is almost always on with a tube
screamer. I also love the EHX Oceans pedal for shimmer verb. I’d love a Death by Audio
supersonic fuzz gun, if anyone fancies getting me a gift.

How do you look after your voices?

Poppy: I’m probably not as good as Jasmine. We were in the studio yesterday and she did
this amazing take in one breath. When I went to do the harmony I realised I should probably
look after myself a bit more.

Jasmine: With a lot of singing lessons and warming up!

 

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you
enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Poppy: Probably Glamorama by Brett Easton Ellis. It’s satirical surrealism. I like the way it
blends sparkly high life with really dark and twisted themes. I always wondered why there
wasn’t already a film adaptation.

Jasmine: If I could score any film, I’d choose Jawbreaker by Darren Stein. I love the contrast
between the bubblegum visuals and it’s sinister plot. The film does already have a pretty
good soundtrack though.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in four words?

Poppy: London – it really depends on the season. The best and worst city.

Jasmine: Yeah I feel like we both have quite a love/ hate relationship with London!
I would say…Cold, colourful, harsh, home

 

Do you have any live dates in the UK/Europe planned for 2025/2026?

Poppy: Yes we do, we’re doing Wilderness in August, then Live at Leeds, Tenement Trail,
and a few London shows later on in the year. More tbc!

 

What makes Hot Stamp happy and what makes you unhappy?

Jasmine: the scent of sun cream, clothes that fit perfectly, seeing bands that I love live,
strawberries and Nutella, going to the cinema = happy. Mosquitoes, hayfever, arguments =
unhappy.

Poppy: Happiness is sun on skin, the perfect dark purple lipstick, dalmatians and the 30
seconds after writing a new song. Unhappiness is secrets, dill, technical difficulties and limp
handshakes.

Feature Image Photo Credit: Michael Jolly

Hot Stamp’s debut single ‘Josephine’ is out now. 

Stream Here: https://open.spotify.com/track/2fZXJDjJWWa6KOchENlfpP?si=e3Ca940vTmewbmo_id7MYA&nd=1&dlsi=8f095d6e766e4604

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotstampband/?hl=en