NEW SINGLE '' Last Trade '' OUT NOW

“The Last Trade " turns to the world of abuse and the eternal grasp it can have over victims. It’s a deep one from us -- inspired by those who don’t become who they fear most ''.

Who Are ‘’ Planets ’’

We’re a Kent based music duo, originally from opposite sides of the country! Charlotte King (vocalist) and I (Hector Castro) met a couple years ago to create a band and at the very least, a song writing partnership. Since then we’ve become a couple, and after a few open-mic nights to test the waters, we took flight with our debut single "Red Earth" in July 2024, shortly followed by a sophomore release called "SIGNS" in October. After a brief spell off radar, we’re back, refuelled, and ready to go up a gear in the alternative rock scene with our latest release, “The Last Trade”.

For Someone That Is Yet To Discover You, How Would You Describe Your Music ?

Planets music is all about emotion and taking listeners for a journey. We live under the heavy rock umbrella, but we want peaks and troughs, and we want light and shade. So you’re gonna get huge dynamic leaps from verse to chorus, hooky riffs, thumpy drums, and a bridge to take you somewhere else before Charlotte’s lead vocal takes your head off – you definitely won’t feel short changed!

What The Story Behind The Band’s Name ?

Charlotte’s WELL into astrology and knows an insane amount about star-signs and crystals etc. She absolutely floored me once when she attempted to ‘do my birth chart’, but now that I think about it, I think it was probably for her benefit, to check what type of person I was and whether there was anything to be concerned about! So when it came to thinking of a name, I half-jokingly proposed “Planets, with the tag, yet to be discovered”. To my surprise, Charlotte actually quite liked it, so we went for it.

What Is Your Pre-Show Routine? Who’s The One With The Diva Demands ?

Well we’re quite different pre-show, I tend to go really quiet before gigs and Charlotte loves to be sociable with the crowd and other bands backstage. But we both take it really seriously and rehearse a lot to make sure we feel as comfortable as possible on stage. After all, it’s what we’ve for and it’s what we love doing more than anything.

Where Do You Feel You Fit Into The Music Landscape ?

We’re definitely carving out our own sound in the heavy rock/alternative scene. We always find it difficult to compare our sound to anyone when asked, which is a bit of a challenge for playlisting and any marketing. But this is the challenge. It’s our job to discover what Planets is, especially if we want to call ourselves artists! We gotta crystallise our USP in the minds of our listeners, and it’s gotta be a natural extension of who we are as people. Step by step, we’re confident we can grow our audience, along with our brand; we just need to stay consistent and trust we’ll improve in every aspect.

With 2025 Slowly Coming To An End, What's Are your Plans For The Rest of The Year Going Into 2026?

We’re in the studio on the 1st of November to record our next release, scheduled to be dropped mid-December. After that we’ve got more studio dates with our Producer to record a song for a February release. Alongside this, we’ve set some fairly ambitious targets for ourselves to grow our online footprint. In the last couple of weeks, Charlotte has managed to increase our followers on TikTok from less than 80 to over 1,600. This is massive for us, and it wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for her own dedication and relentlessness!

The whole aim is to identify the audience, but the only way we can do this is by covering all bases, and ensuring they’re given regular content to listen to.

Is There A Story Behind Your New Single ‘‘The Last Trade ’’

“The Last Trade" turns to the world of abuse and the grasp it has on victims. This is especially close to home because my mum lived in fear of her own mother, who physically abused her from a young age. Like many, she wears the scars for her younger siblings, and, somehow, I don’t think it would’ve been as severe had my mum not been beautiful. I think my grandma was fuelled by jealousy, narcissism, and years of alcoholism. So yeah, it’s a bit of a deep one for us, but it was always intended to be one for victims who don’t become who they fear most.

What Would You Say Is Your Greatest Strength As A Band?

Our musicianship is probably our greatest asset. A lot of the development in our songs comes from our ability to confidently improvise. We hear the next section a lot of the time, which allows us to start arranging sections quite quickly. I know Charlotte can sing many different styles of music with a lot of authenticity, and, similarly, I play all different types of music as a classical guitarist.

What Would You Say Is Your Greatest Weakness As A Band Is ?

We’re in a relationship, so things can get pretty heated at times! Creative differences can spiral out of control and we’ve really struggled to find the best way to communicate to each other. With full-time jobs, second jobs, and out of work commitments, it’s easy to take things personally, especially when the other person doesn’t agree or whatever. But we’ve got a lot better at treating Planets like a business, and not just our passion.

What Can Fans Expect From Your New Single ‘‘The Last Trade’’

We always try to connect personal subject matter with heavy guitar tones, rich melodic harmonies and Charlotte's soaring lead vocal. Fans can also expect punchy ‘caveman’ like drums, bouncing the groove with real attitude and aggression, holding everything down. Fans can also expect an extended cut of the song in a month's time, with extra sections, more development and an intro which sets the tone for what we one day want to bring live with a full band.

We really feel like we’re carving our sound and maturing as song-writers; so expect the best thing we’ve done to date, but there’s certainly more to come, and we’re not going anywhere.

What Music Artist/Band Would You Say Have Influenced Your Work ?

We’ve taken influence from bands that have a lot of attitude and a massive point to prove. So bands like Soft Play, Wolf Alice, St Vincent, Faetooth, Paleface Swiss, even Sleep Token. We are also massively inspired by a lot of the greats and we try to not listen to them all the time! So bands like Metallica, Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd etc. We honestly listen to everything and we easily fall in love with music when it catches us.

Who Would You Most Like To Collaborate With Artistically ?

Castle Rat, no question! They’re really making waves in the scene and we love their brand. It’s a female fronted group who has a huge on-stage presence, and their sound feels stadium ready. Whilst we’re not planning to go full ‘Conan the Barbarian’, we still love their confidence and we want to embody that same sense of showmanship, but in our own way.

If You Weren't In A Band, What Would Your Dream Job Be?

Charlotte’s an incredible actor and she’d be a household name if it wasn’t for me getting in the way! Alongside this, Charlotte’s a pretty amazing photographer, videographer and painter, and just a proper creative ‘all rounder’.

On my side, I’d probably be a chef and try to open a family business. I worked as a commis during my Law degree, and all my family work in catering.

What Was The Most Difficult Obstacle You Have Ever Faced And How Did You Overcome It?

For me it’s the loss of my father in 2016. After many rounds of treatment and surgeries at the Royal Marsden, he left us on New Years Day, surrounded by his loved ones. He shares my name and he’s the reason I’m a musician today. A lot of the writing and inspiration for Planets stem from my adolescence, my folks’ divorce and the experiences of seeing him (and others) fight this horrendous disease. For Charlotte, she’s had to face challenges of a different kind, but by no means less severe or life threatening — I know I would really struggle to manage what she’s been through, even day-to-day. She inspires me and we’re lucky to have found each other.

What Is Your Creative Process When Making Music ?

This one came together pretty quickly compared to our other songs. I’ve still got the voice note on my phone of Charlotte improvising a verse and chorus to the acoustic guitar. At that point, I knew we had something. The shape of the vocal melody gave me everything I needed to write lyrics and record a rough demo. We always lay scratch vocals for Charlotte to improvise different parts and harmonies, which is incredible to watch because she instinctively goes for intervals you wouldn’t expect.

From a writing perspective, it just depends how long it takes for an idea to come. For this song, the lyric “When the silence makes you run” opened the flood-gates, and I was (luckily) able to pencil the rest of the song quite quickly.

What Are Your Top Ten Desert Island Tracks ?

Charlotte’s List: