About Festival

Founded in 1994 by Pete Lawrence and Katrina Larkin. The Big Chill began as a series of ambient parties at the Union Chapel in Islington, but developed into an outdoor festival in 1995 with an event in the Black Mountains of Wales. In the early days the most prominent DJs were Matt Black of Coldcut, Tom Middleton of Global Communication and Mixmaster Morris also known as the Irresistible Force.

1996 the event moved to Norfolk, and in 1997 a new home for the event (now known as "The Enchanted Garden") was found at Larmer Tree Gardens in England where it was held for 5 years. During this time it slowly developed its hallmarks, such as high quality visuals, an excellent range of food stalls, highly unusual line-ups and a Body & Soul field with many healers, masseurs and alternative therapists. In 2001 a second summer festival was also held at Lulworth Castle in Dorset. In 2002 the festival was bought by the Cantaloupe Group. PK Events Limited went into liquidation and a new company Chillfest Limited was created with Katrina Larkin and Pete Lawrence with 25% each and Nigel Foster and Chris Greenwood owning the remaining shares. In 2007 Nigel Foster bought out Pete Lawrence and some of Katrina Larkin's shares and became the majority shareholder. In 2009 after poor ticket sales Chillfest Limited also went into liquidation and the festival brand was bought by Festival Republic.

The festival has continued to grow in popularity with attendance and ticket sales generally increasing each year. In 2002 the last festival took place at the Larmer Tree Gardens, and then the event moved to its current home at Eastnor Castle where it now takes place each summer at the beginning of August. Attendance at the first "Enchanted Garden" was only a couple of thousand people, rising to around 6,000 to 7,000 people towards the end of its time at Larmer Tree Gardens. In 2003 this had increased to 17,500. Additional space at the Eastnor site has permitted the festival to grow further to 27,000 (2004) and 30,000 (2005) people. In 2006 the event was licensed for 35,000 people. The festival has moved on from the vibes of its small beginnings and has a plethora of corporate sponsors and professionals involved in the production.

Throughout its history, the Big Chill has showcased a variety of music, uptempo as well as ambient. Nowadays DJs like Norman Jay, Mr Scruff and Gilles Peterson are regular performers, and more dance music is heard, but the festival also provides a diverse range of music from folk and jazz to African and dub, as well as art, films, poetry, cabaret and gourmet food.

The Big Chill is more than a music festival, its a way of life. The official site for the Big Chill www.bigchill.net

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Some Videos from festival

Bonobo

Bonobo's first release was in October 1999 with the song "Terrapin" on the Tru Thoughts compilation When Shapes Join Together . He released his debut album Animal Magic on Tru Thoughts in 2000. With this album, completely self-produced and mainly self-instrumented, he became one of the "new downtempo pioneers" and his chilled, beat-driven music captivated press as well as many major labels.

In 2001, Bonobo was signed to Ninja Tune and in 2003, after one album of remixes on Tru Thoughts in 2002, he released Dial 'M' For Monkey. In 2005, Bonobo contributed to the Solid Steel series, with his Bonobo Presents Solid Steel: "It Came From The Sea", the release date was scheduled for October 10, 2005, but was released a week early, the mix features several exclusive tracks as well as remixes and re-edits.

His third album, entitled "Days to Come", was released on October 2, 2006, the first single from the album was "Nightlite", featuring vocals by Bajka. Following the success of "Days to Come" his tracks have appeared in a number of media-related items. Days To Come was voted Best Album of 2006 by Gilles Peterson's listeners.

The song "The Keeper" was released in September 2009 as the lead single from his fourth album "Black Sands", released in March 2010

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Roy Ayers

Ayers was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in a musical family. At the age of five, Lionel Hampton gave him his first pair of mallets, which led to the vibraphone being his trademark sound for decades. The area of Los Angeles that Ayers grew up in, now known as "South Central", but then known as "South Park", was the epicenter of the Southern California Black Music Scene. The schools Roy attended (Wadsworth Elementary, Nevins Middle School, and Thomas Jefferson High School) were all close to the famed Central Avenue, Los Angeles' equivalent of Harlem's Lenox Avenue and Chicago's State Street. Roy would likely have been exposed to music as it not only emanated from the many nightclubs and bars in the area, but also poured out of many of the homes where the musicians who kept the scene alive lived in and around Central. His high school, Thomas Jefferson High School, from which Ayers graduated, produced some of the most talented new musicians, such as Dexter Gordon.

Ayers was responsible for the highly regarded soundtrack to Jack Hill's 1973 blaxploitation film Coffy, which starred Pam Grier. He later moved from a jazz-funk sound to R&B, as seen on Mystic Voyage, which featured the songs "Evolution" and the underground disco hit "Brother Green (The Disco King)", as well as the title track from his 1976 album Everybody Loves the Sunshine.

In 1977, Ayers produced an album by the group RAMP, Come Into Knowledge, commonly and mistakenly thought to stand for "Roy Ayers Music Project". That fall, he had his biggest hit with "Running Away".

In 1980, Ayers released Music Of Many Colors with the Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

In 1981, Ayers produced an album with the singer Sylvia Striplin, Give Me Your Love (Uno Melodic Records 1981).

In the 1990s, Ayers released several albums for the hip hop label Ichiban Records.

During the 2000s and 2010s, Ayers ventured into house music, collaborating with such stalwarts of the genre as Masters at Work and Kerri Chandler.

Ayers has founded two record labels, Uno Melodic and Gold Mink Records. The first released several LPs, including Sylvia Striplin's, while the second folded after a few singles.

Ayers as not only an accomplished musician but also a well-known entertainer on the music scene. He often performs with music and comedic speech/storyline interaction to his audience to enhance his appeal. One of his most popular is a track taken from the LP 'In the Dark' released in 1984 called 'Poo Poo La La'. This has now become a standard favourite amongst his audiences.