Factory International

Factory Works

A new audio artwork and accompanying film by Neville Gabie – created with Nabihah Iqbal, Mark Thomas and the construction workers who built Aviva Studios with album covers by North, with thanks to Peter Saville.

Image of Factory Works cover

The project

Celebrating the construction workforce behind Factory International’s new home, FACTORY WORKS is an artwork in the form of a vinyl record and accompanying film.

Created by artist Neville Gabie and musician/DJ Nabihah Iqbal in collaboration with construction workers and manufacturers involved in the creation of Aviva Studios, the record mixes industrial sounds and snippets of conversations with workers – all underpinned with original electronic music.

Get a glimpse behind the scenes of the Aviva Studios build with the accompanying FACTORY WORKS short film – directed by Neville Gabie and Mark Thomas of Soup Collective. It’s a celebration of the people, sound and skill involved in the creation of Aviva Studios and features the whole workforce of the companies involved in the FACTORY WORKS project.

Neville Gabie is known for creating works that respond to people and places in moments of change. Focusing on the core materials that form the infrastructure of Aviva Studios – steel, concrete, cloth, rubber, wood and glass – FACTORY WORKS was made over a two-and-a-half-year period from Spring 2020 to Autumn 2022.

There are 1500 copies of the limited-edition artwork – available to buy online and at Aviva Studios. Every worker from the factories together with the whole on-site workforce will receive their own copy of the vinyl album.

Each album has a unique sleeve from design agency North, with thanks to Peter Saville. You can view the 1500 different album sleeves below in a two-minute film created by Hannah Moseng Staff and Ali Asadi.

Listen

View the album liner notes here →

Watch

A close up of Aviva Studios architecture and a crane against a blue sky

Factory Works | A film by Neville Gabie and Mark Thomas | Factory International

Buy

Buy the limited-edition vinyl online or in person at the Aviva Studios shop.

Buy now →

Album Covers

Album covers by North, with thanks to Peter Saville.

Video by Hannah Moseng Staff and Ali Asadi

FACTORY WORKS Record Cover designed by North

Factory Works: 1500 Record Covers

Companies involved in the FACTORY WORKS project

Group photograph of workers from Explore Manufacturing
1/6

Explore Manufacturing, Worksop

Group photograph of workers from Farrat
2/6

Farrat, Altrincham

Photo of workers from Gariff
3/6

Gariff, Trafford Park

Group photo of workers from J&C Joel
4/6

J&C Joel, Sowerby Bridge

Group photo of workers from Laing O’Rourke
5/6

Laing O’Rourke led the construction of Aviva Studios

Group photo of workers from William Hare Group
6/6

William Hare Group, Bury

Credits

Creative team

Project conceived by Neville Gabie

Music by Nabihah Iqbal and Neville Gabie with the construction workforce of Aviva Studios

Film direction by Mark Thomas and Neville Gabie

Commissioning

Commissioned and produced by Factory International

All rights reserved © & ℗ Nabihah Iqbal & Neville Gabie/Factory International 2023

Music Nabihah Iqbal & Neville Gabie with the construction workforce of Aviva Studio

Design North, with thanks to Peter Saville

Record Cover Photography Jeremy Coysten, Neville Gabie, Jonathan Leonard

Booklet Cover Photography Jeremy Coysten (image of Ellen van Loon, John McGrath, Gary Owen)

Booklet Back Cover and Inner Photography Neville Gabie

Digital Mastering John Davis at Metropolis

Production Peter Jones at Rotator

Copy Editor Will Fulford-Jones

Featured Voices Gary Bellis, Leona Budworth, Florian Cabaret, Corrine Comley, Peter Flaherty, Natalie Fleetwood, Oliver Flounder, Nicola Giannotta, John Hardisty, Mandy Heron, Norman Hill, Chris Holland, Mike Keyes, Emma King, Ian McMunn, Gareth McNary, Ryan Maguire, Peter Marshall, Geraldine Nelson, Gurmakh Singh, Craig Smith, Stephen Stewart, Darren Suttle, Debbie Tidswell, Steve Tierney, Winston Watson, Stuart Wheelhouse, John Wheelwright, Lee Williams, Pete Wilkinson

A Soup Co. Production

Filmed between June and October 2022

Film Direction Mark Thomas and Neville Gabie

Editing Mark Thomas

Music Sampled from the FACTORY WORKS album

Camera Percy Dean, Mark Thomas

Sound Recordist: Morgan Wetherill

Title Design Virginia Gilles

Colour Grade Soup Co.

Featured Voices Corrine Comley, Oliver Flounder, Andy Griffiths, Peter Marshall, Farhat Mir, Stephen Stewart, Joan Taylor, Stuart Wheelhouse

Senior Producer Ruhi Jhunjhunwala

Producer Angela McSherry

Production Administrator Abigail Hellam

Production Manager Rachael Lees

Director of Production & Building Operations Paul Moore

With thanks to all at Factory International for their work on this project.

Thanks to the many people who organised our visits to each of the locations:

Ryan Arbabi, Cerisa Bond, Scott Carter, Dominic Chapman, Corrine Comley, Matt Corbett, George Deacon, Louise Dixon, Steve Duffield, Claire Dyson, Natalie Fleetwood, Jerry Halliwell, Neville Hodson, Gareth Hogburn, James Langley, David Langshaw, Stephen Lloyd, Ryan Maguire, Lewis Moss, Philip Muff, Tim Richardson, Nick Scott, Darren Suttle, Patrick Travers, Natalie Van-Eda, Sue Wadsworth, Daniel Warren, Tony Whitten, Pete Wilkinson, James Wheelwright


Additional thanks:

Mark Ball, Emma King, Tracey Low, Gary Owen, Ellen van Loon, Alan Ward, Factory International Disabled Persons Engagement Group

And special thanks to the Manchester City Council Capital Programmes Team:

Jared Allen, David Farr, Tim Laycock, Nyall Lee, Flan McNamara, Luke Roscoe, Olivia Turner, Sam Wilson

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