'Return To Slygo' by Nicholas Daley & NOW Gallery

An ode to community, British designer Nicholas Daley presents short film Return to Slygo. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr, the film captures a musical interchange between Black British artists spanning both generations and disciplines.


Set against a seventies domestic backdrop, ‘home’ plays both setting and central character, reflecting the mood, form and aesthetic of a snapshot of Afro-Caribbean life. The foundations of these gatherings, from sound systems to food, slow dance to dominoes, feature as we journey around the household, a heavy nod to a diaspora intimately familiar with such scenes. Shot inside the North London home of the May family, the household has been passed down through two generations, originally purchased by Florence May in the ‘60s after leaving the Caribbean as part of the Windrush arrival.


Sundance 2021 Grand Jury prize winner Akinola Davies Jr drives the pace and intent of the story. For this multi-disciplined maker, Return to Slygo sits in a larger body of work exploring the space between modernity and tradition - Nicholas and Akinola’s Shared interest in identity and expressions are present in every frame.

Set within a wider context, Return to Slygo plays with familiar and specific Nicholas Daley brand codes. Era-appropriate clothing spans past seasons, spotlighting classic ND styles and fabrics from crochet to tie-dye, all heavily focused on craftsmanship and authenticity. A constant across his collections, ideas around family and his own personal heritage underpin the film. The influence of his parent’s grassroots club night, Reggae Klub, looms large, taking physical form in a logo emblazoned tee.


Central to the narrative; an intimate performance from Mercury Prize nominees Sons of Kemet and Jazz FM UK Jazz Act of the Year winner, saxophonist Nubya Garcia - two London-based acts that have come to define the capital’s rich experimental jazz scene. Music has been at the heart of the Nicholas Daley brand from its inception, continuing this tradition, the Return to Slygo score has been mixed by the legendary Dennis Bovell (Matumbi, Babylon, Small Axe…) - a stalwart of the British Lover’s Rock and Reggae scene and a long-time ND collaborator. Meanwhile, the distinctive voice of T. S. Eliot Prize winning poet Roger Robinson sets the tempo, his curated spoken word piece part of a cross-generational dialogue that lends a tangible richness to this evocative short film.

Return To Slygo at NOW Gallery 18th May - 4th July

Director: Akinola Davies
Exec Producer: Nick Hayes
Producer: Abíólá Rufai-Awójídé
Dop: Nathalie Pitters
Gaffer: Edel Gardner
1st AD: Daniel Smith
Production Designer: Phoebe Platman
Styling: Nicholas Daley
Make Up: Bari Khalique
Sound Engineer: Sebastien Renaud
Editor: Dfran
Music & Sound Mix: Dennis Bovell
Spoken Word: Roger Robinson
Music/ Performances by:
Sons of Kemet
Nubya Garcia