Jacky Naylor - The Industrial Suite (2021) Hi Res

In 2019, Naylor was commissioned by Lancaster Jazz Festival to write a new suite of music. He wanted to write about the wool and textile mills which dominate the place where he grew up and the history of many Northern families. The Industrial Suite was subsequently premiered at the Festival later that year. These five pieces tell the story of industrial growth and decline in the North of England with its profound implications for a future we are still living through.

I: Workshop of The World - The mill town is waking up. Workers are walking through cobbled streets toward the busy mill yard. Heavy, clunky machinery is turned on for another day’s work.

II: Wakes Weeks - The factories are closed and families travel to nearby seaside towns and villages. The opening describes a train ride through expansive countryside, away from the mills.

III: War of Attrition - Tensions between workers and mill owners explode into strikes and riots.

IV: The Last Mill - Abandoned mills still dominate Northern skylines. Now derelict, they are a constant reminder of what’s been lost.

V: Rebirth - Mills and factories are given a new lease of life in the 21st Century. They are converted into vibrant art galleries, restaurants and flats.