Going off quietly not your style? Arrange to have your earthly body immortalized in vinyl with And Vinyly, a morbidly novel service that offers to turn your ashes into a playable platter for the family turntable.
Founded by 90s musician Jason Leach, the company will literally press your ashes into a vinyl recording of your own choice. Want to force people to remember you by playing a 12-minute long remixed version of Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth? Yes, you can. You can also opt for more meaningful music (such as your favorite song – which happens to be Electric Youth), a voice recording (such as your will and testament) or deafening silence (so everyone can listen to pops and crackles while they summon your spirit).
And Vinyly sprinkles the ashes into raw pieces of vinyl before having them pressed by the plates, essentially embedding your torched humanity into the grooves and recesses of that specific recording. The basic package includes 30 discs and accompanying artwork printed on both the covers and labels (which they call RIV, as in Rest In Vinyl), with your name, date of birth and date of death. Up to 24 minutes of audio can be stored on each disc – 12 minutes on each side (extra charge if you want a longer recording).
Options for those who want to splurge in death include a custom portrait from James Hague (using acrylic mixed with your ashes) on the cover, original backing tracks (they have ready-made options, with each song lasting three minutes) and custom music. They also offer distribution (if you want your last will and testament, along with your pressed ashes, sold in record stores) and funeral arrangements, provided they’re tied in with the basic package. Yep, it’s weird, alright.
Prices for And Vinyly’s service starts at £2,000.
[And Vinyly via Underwire]