Who’d have thought that the crazy dream Angel and I had over 10 years ago would turn out to be the Planet Angel you see now... It’s been an incredible journey for sure but everything changes and change is in the air! After being off on Maternity leave since last year, Angel has decided to call it a day. You can read Angel’s personal account of why in her article: “I am stepping out of Planet Angel" below...

Angel's unique character brought vision, creativity, drive and a talent for seeing tiny details in the big picture. Her passion and energy inspired crew and contributors, and will be missed.

With the change comes new opportunities for more people to get involved in the running of this wonderful organisation and it heralds a new era. Planet Angel will continue to be run with the same ethos, dedication, passion and commitment that it always has been by me and the Crew who have been manning the fort since last year. We’ll be focusing on bringing you more special events like the X Party, and future gatherings like *Chilled* in a Field and the Big Return Party in September...

We wish Angel much happiness with her new family and her emerging and – doubtless going to be very successful – singing career! Actually, if you have tickets to *Chilled* in a Field, you’ll be among the first to hear her sing and perform live with her band... something not to be missed we think.

Big love, Pete and the Planet Angel Crew

I am stepping out of Planet Angel; by Angel

When Pete and I started Planet Angel I was 22 years old, full of churning fire, burning to do some good and create a positive space. My Mother had taken her own life when I was 21 and I used all that anger, emotion and fire to propel Planet Angel forwards in whatever ways I could. I guess subconsciously I felt if I could support enough artists, mentor enough crew, provide a space for enough people to lose their inhibitions and feel accepted and loved, then I would be in some way counteracting the cold, unkind, hard reality my Mother had lived through. I think I also needed this loving place for myself.

Over the years those creative and emotional aims have been refined into something explainable to new crew, acceptable to licensing and health and safety officers, following legal and financial standards. PAYE and VAT have been paid, accounts systems set up, procedures and policies clarified, websites rebuilt... Planet Angel is now a fully fledged legal organisation operating in the real world and continues to be re‐shaped, edited, transformed and progressed through the input of a wonderful team of continually evolving good people.

Planet Angel puts on amazing events where people have a great time, new networks of friends have been built, new business partnerships formed, new marriages registered, new children have been born, we have sadly lost some dear friends along the way too. We’ve gathered around the time of September 11th and lit hundreds of candles, we’ve offered a stage to hundreds of talented people, watched them flourish and become successful. We’ve helped people build up their confidence as they’ve progressed through the crew, we’ve offered event management experience and watched these people go on to manage awesome public and charity events. We’ve sailed down the River Thames on New Years Eve, we’ve packed the Scala, we’ve partied in Warehouses, we’ve moved from The Arches to Imperial Gardens, back to The Arches, to Hidden, we’ve had a massive failure of a New Years Eve, we’ve been cheated and ripped off, we’ve been pleasantly surprised... and best of all we have photographic evidence of the whole ten years on the website.

Planet Angel has been my life for ten years; it has been my baby, my passion, my saviour and occasionally a nightmare. It’s taught me so much, it’s introduced me to so many wonderful people and not only has it bound me to some special friends for life, it is how I found my soul mate and future husband, with whom I have a beautiful baby son.

Before I fell pregnant Planet Angel was having a tough time financially and I was working with clients implementing and managing financial systems three days a week, enabling me to work 2 days a week on Planet Angel unpaid. It was supposed to be temporary but we never quite found a way out of the situation. As my belly grew and the pregnancy took it out of me I struggled to stay on top of it all and had to drop my contracts one by one, before handing over all my Planet Angel day to day responsibilities and stopping work to get ready for the baby. It was such a relief not to be working so hard!

I always intended to come back to Planet Angel, however once Kai was born and I could see that things were ticking over just fine, something changed in my heart. I don’t want to come back to work and force Pete to take a pay cut when he doesn’t earn a great wage anyway. I don’t want to leave my Son to work unless it’s worth it financially. Not only this but I absolutely love being a Mum and want to spend as much time with him as I possibly can.

Carrying my baby raised many questions about my own Mum and opened up the grieving process for me. With that outpouring of sadness came a calming of the churning burning fire within me. I’m now aglow with the desire to nurture a happy, healthy confident little boy, enjoy my family... and cook loads of food for the freezer! I have also realised that I’m ready to exercise a part of my soul that really needs to be free; I really want and need to sing. That’s a different story ‐if you’re interested you’ll find it at www.myspace.com/angelkellyspace.

And so rather than forcing a situation which wasn’t really working for a while, after many sleepless nights, tears, indecision, doubting and worrying, I can finally accept that my time has come to walk away, see what my next chapter brings and leave you all with the gift that is Planet Angel.

I have achieved some amazing things, earned some incredible memories, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Planet Angel.

I’ll see you all at *Chilled* in a Field, on the Saturday I will play you a few songs - rounding off the last eleven unforgettable years with the beginning of a new chapter... see you there!

Apart from *Chilled* in a Field, our next party is our Big Return Party on September 10th...

But we have something to recommend in the mean time! if you like your Breaks, Dubstep, Electro and DnB!, we're pleased to announce that Planet Angel Productions is helping Breakspoll winning record label Funkatech host the 'Funkatech Summer Bash'. It's a party with the crème de la crème of Funkatech artists appearing live including NAPT, Specimen A, PYRAMID and Where's Huey? (who ripped up the Funky Lounge at the May Party)

We're also pleased to announce that you'll be able to catch our very own Resident Tequila Slammer and Funky Lounge king DJ Hazze playing to! There are limited advance ticket available right now for just £5 (+fee). It's £10 on the door so get in early!

Check out the full info & get Advance Tickets here See you there! Big love, Planet Angel.

*Chilled* In a Field has proved very popular! We offered tickets first to those on the dedicated *Chilled* in a Field mailing list and were going to make the remaining tickets generally available. However, all of the *Chilled* in a Field tickets have sold.

We’re sorry for any disappointment – if you’d like to be the first to know about our next *Chilled* in a field, please join the separate mailing list here. 

If you already have tickets, we’ll be sending you a Welcome Pack containing everything you need to know including travel information and more details of the fun stuff to do! We’ll also be updating the *Chilled* in a Field web page so please check back regularly for latest information...

A Spring Bank holiday Special... Friday 28th May

It’s with a wee tear in our eyes that we make the final preparations for our last Party until the autumn... For 10 years we’ve partied right through the summer but with *Chilled* in a Field taking lots of organisation we thought we’d take a break from the regular Parties and return in style on the 10th September with a huge return Party in a spectacular new venue; more about that soon...

It’s been ages since the last Party and we’re gagging for it! This Party is rammed full of great DJ’s, performers and activities; it's going off in all three rooms; if you like your dubstep, electro, D&B and breaks, check out the Funky Lounge it’s a mega line-up featuring Funkatech Record’s latest hot act ‘Where’s Huey?’ live! There’re going to rip it up!

Ah!  The Meltdown Room – like your trance and house? We’ve an outstanding line up and a musical journey through the best of progressive, euphoric, uplifting house and trance topped off with a good serving of hard house to see you off in the morning!  Oh, and there might still be time to get involved in the Fashion Show - get in touch now!

The Ibiza Bar is the perfect place to warm up and also features a fantastic line-up to get you in the mood from the moment you arrive. Expect funky, fluffy house and tunes to take you to the land of sun, sea and sangria, and dancing on the beach! Ahhhhh... Summer!

Actually, summer officially starts right after the weekend so there’s a suncatcher workshop and just for fun we’re giving away Hawaiian flower garlands to the first 100 Advance Ticket holders to arrive!  Rumour has it that people are planning all sort of summery outfits so we’re also giving away two tickets to the mega return Party for the best outfit... Bring out those Hawaiian shirts and sun specs guys!

And so our last Party until the autumn awaits you. Planet Angel has thrived for over 10 years because of the love, passion commitment and hard work of so many people, so whether you come to crew, to contribute or to party, we invite you to celebrate the good things in life and the start of the summer, in a safe, like-minded environment.

See you at the Party, Big Love, Planet Angel.

You can check out the full Party details on the next party page and remember, Advance Tickets guarantee your entry*.

BTW:  we’d like to reach out to as many like minded people as possible, if you can help spread the word about Planet Angel, you’d really be helping (just remember not to publicly display the location of the party, lets keep it word of mouth eh ;)

*Subject to ID and security checks; till 1am.

The Planet Angel Mole has been rummaging around and has ended up speaking with Lauren who’s taken on the task of coordinating the music for *Chilled* in a Field...  Mole asked her a few choice questions...
 
So how are you connected with Planet Angel Lauren?
I’ve been coming to Planet Angel since 2003, and got involved as the events administrator in 2007. I do lots of different things for Planet Angel, crewing at Parties, DJ-ing in the Chill Bar, finding cool bands to play for the Happenings, generally ear-wigging with Pete about all sorts of things!
 
You’re Coordinating the Music for *Chilled* in a Field; what type of music can people expect... Is it going to be a rave?!
There's going to be a huge selection of music, with DJ's and live music in all three areas but it’s definitely not a rave! The Acoustic Stage, placed perfectly in a dell in the woods which acts as a natural amphitheatre, will be hosting the afternoon sessions of acoustic music, spoken word, and maybe even a live jam session! We're aiming to get a variety of difference performances in there. The Chill Bar will be playing some great atmospheric ambient tunes, always with a beat to sway to but predominantly being a place to relax with a great beat in the background. The Big Bar will play tunes to tap your feet to, more reminiscent of the Funky Lounge at the Party, with some dancey live bands in the evenings. Basically there will always be somewhere to dance and somewhere to chill out too!

Why did you want to take the role of Music Coordinate for *Chilled* in a Field?
For so many reasons!! I am a self confessed live music and festival junkie. Music is definitely my biggest passion in life, and I love exploring and discovering new artists. To actually have the chance to put my mark on the music for a festival is like a dream come true, and its better still that I have the chance to do it for Planet Angel’s first outdoor event! When I was at University (I studied Music Management and Live Production) we were asked to plan a festival for one of our modules, and naturally I went with a Planet Angel Festival! This really is putting theory into practice, I never thought it would actually happen but it has!
 
What does the task entail?
As this if the first outdoor event Planet Angel has put on, the music coordinator role has to be created from scratch. This means putting together a team of people (roles are available if you want to get involved!), deciding on the best structure for the programme and defining the processes to make it all happen. It’s going to be a lot of hard work! And then of course there’s listening to and choosing performers that will best suit the event, and give us a good mix of music to see us through the dancing, the swaying, the boogying and of course, the chilling! Its going to be a lot of fun!
 
What kind of music do you listen to?
Short answer? EVERYTHING!! Longer answer? I grew up on Motown classics and Bob Marley, but as soon as I got introduced to dance music I knew that Drum n’ Bass was the one for me! From that I was led onto electro, funky house, euphoric trance, as long as it has a beat you can be sure I’ll be dancing to it. As a singer I have always loved my female vocalists, through soul and funk to jazz and chillout. At the moment I’m listening to Laura Marling, Mumford and Sons, Bonobo, Chase and Status, Gorrillaz, Fink, Noisettes.
 
You seem really excited about this event, why?
You know how I said earlier that music is my biggest passion in life? Well, I lied. There is a joint holder of that position, and it is Planet Angel. Not only is it the best club I go to with the best atmosphere around, but it gives people opportunities. I have been lucky enough to become a part of that and benefit from it first hand. All I knew was that I wanted to work in music, it was a very broad request. But Planet Angel gave me the chance to gain experience as an events administrator, a DJ, a promoter, a host, whatever I wanted to do, they found a way for me to do it. I have gained so much experience from it, and it has definitely paid off – I’m the Music Coordinator for their first outdoor event! And I couldn’t be happier about it, I’m going to do Planet Angel proud :)
 
Describe your first kiss ;)
Now that really would be telling wouldn’t it! It was definitely under a tree, that much I remember…!
 
Rumour has it that Mole will be digging his way to *Chilled* in a Field... so if you see a little pile of earth, say hello :)  More from the Mole soon...