http://news.discovery.com/tech/press-your-cremated-ashes-into-a-vinyl-record.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1
what do you think? by the way, follow the link to the screw in coffin article!
Nobody likes dust on a vinyl record right? The skipping, the popping, the scratching, etc. Well, what about dust in a vinyl record? Get ready for this. Andvinyly, a UK-based outfit, has this offer: after you die, you can have some of your cremated ashes pressed into a vinyl record. (A tagline on their website says, "Pressed for Time.")
There are many different packages available. You can choose your own music, or none at all. You could even put the audio from your very best Powerpoint presentation. Think of the possibilities!
Anyway, after the screw-in coffin post a while back, the Great Beyond has been on my mind, I guess. That, and I'm a sucker for vinyl. So, I had an email exchange with someone at Andvinyly who goes by the online handle "The Undertaker." Here's our Q & A.
1) How did you come up with the idea for Andvinyly?
We started about five years ago. The idea came through personal considerations about the inevitable. This was happening at the same time as a drastic reduction in demand for vinyl releases, which are a love of mine. Around the same time, I began to get glimmers that perhaps I wasn't invincible after all. I saw a story on an American chap who had his ashes put into fireworks for his family to enjoy. I loved this idea. I began to see that death does need serious consideration, but that this could be done in a light-hearted way. Our concept provides immortality in sound.
2) Walk me through the process, then.
3) When the records are pressed, do you use all of the ashes, or just some?
It depends how involved the customer wants to be in their record! Not much is required. Obviously, any foreign matter in a vinyl would normally be the last thing you want. Of course a little ash will compromise the sound quality and cause pops and crackles, but that is the point and proof that you're in the groove. For these reasons very little of the total remains will be used in each record.
4) Do you take orders from outside the United Kingdom?
No. We do not want to be involved in the potential emotional and legal minefield of people's loved ones remains being posted around the world, so we do require that a chosen representative/family member brings the ashes to the 'service' where the ashes are added during the pressing of the vinyl. Some people are happy to travel, and some people live in areas where we have representatives. We are expanding the number of representatives we have internationally all the time.
5) What are the different ways that one can personalize the record, both musically and with "cover art?"
You can include your spoken word, audio. Your own music, poetry etc. closed loops with spoken words, sentences. Your spoken will and testament. Your favorite music. (For which we always gain permission. I am a musician myself so suitable respect is paid to the customer's wishes and the artists' permission. These records are not for public performance or sale being distributed to chosen parties for free). Covers can include life photos, imagery, written files, notes or a portrait done by either a professional artist or even a self-portrait.
5) What's the response been like? It is, after all, a growth industry. Have sales been good?
The response was large in 'trendy' magazines when we first posted the site, but then interest fell for a few years. But very recently, interest has become phenomenal, especially internationally. We have many serious enquiries and now a few definite customers. The customers are people who have ashes of loved ones who they know would have loved the idea. They also own audio recordings of their loved one's voice, and photo imagery they know they will use.
So sayeth The Undertaker. Prices start at a little more than US $3,000. What do you think? Is that a small price to pay for audio immortality?
Credit: Crispin Semmens
what do you think? by the way, follow the link to the screw in coffin article!
Nobody likes dust on a vinyl record right? The skipping, the popping, the scratching, etc. Well, what about dust in a vinyl record? Get ready for this. Andvinyly, a UK-based outfit, has this offer: after you die, you can have some of your cremated ashes pressed into a vinyl record. (A tagline on their website says, "Pressed for Time.")
There are many different packages available. You can choose your own music, or none at all. You could even put the audio from your very best Powerpoint presentation. Think of the possibilities!
Anyway, after the screw-in coffin post a while back, the Great Beyond has been on my mind, I guess. That, and I'm a sucker for vinyl. So, I had an email exchange with someone at Andvinyly who goes by the online handle "The Undertaker." Here's our Q & A.
1) How did you come up with the idea for Andvinyly?
We started about five years ago. The idea came through personal considerations about the inevitable. This was happening at the same time as a drastic reduction in demand for vinyl releases, which are a love of mine. Around the same time, I began to get glimmers that perhaps I wasn't invincible after all. I saw a story on an American chap who had his ashes put into fireworks for his family to enjoy. I loved this idea. I began to see that death does need serious consideration, but that this could be done in a light-hearted way. Our concept provides immortality in sound.
2) Walk me through the process, then.
- Confirm your location and the viability of these services in your area.
- Identify a family member or chosen rep who will accompany you (your ashes) to the pressing.
- Establish audio content and cover art
- Attend the mastering of your record.
- Receive playable proof sample of your record and cover.
- Die
- Get cremated.
- Your family member or chosen rep books and attends the sprinkling and pressing of your records.
- Your chosen recipients are sent details of where to collect their copy of your personal record.
- Live on from beyond the groove.
3) When the records are pressed, do you use all of the ashes, or just some?
It depends how involved the customer wants to be in their record! Not much is required. Obviously, any foreign matter in a vinyl would normally be the last thing you want. Of course a little ash will compromise the sound quality and cause pops and crackles, but that is the point and proof that you're in the groove. For these reasons very little of the total remains will be used in each record.
4) Do you take orders from outside the United Kingdom?
No. We do not want to be involved in the potential emotional and legal minefield of people's loved ones remains being posted around the world, so we do require that a chosen representative/family member brings the ashes to the 'service' where the ashes are added during the pressing of the vinyl. Some people are happy to travel, and some people live in areas where we have representatives. We are expanding the number of representatives we have internationally all the time.
5) What are the different ways that one can personalize the record, both musically and with "cover art?"
You can include your spoken word, audio. Your own music, poetry etc. closed loops with spoken words, sentences. Your spoken will and testament. Your favorite music. (For which we always gain permission. I am a musician myself so suitable respect is paid to the customer's wishes and the artists' permission. These records are not for public performance or sale being distributed to chosen parties for free). Covers can include life photos, imagery, written files, notes or a portrait done by either a professional artist or even a self-portrait.
5) What's the response been like? It is, after all, a growth industry. Have sales been good?
The response was large in 'trendy' magazines when we first posted the site, but then interest fell for a few years. But very recently, interest has become phenomenal, especially internationally. We have many serious enquiries and now a few definite customers. The customers are people who have ashes of loved ones who they know would have loved the idea. They also own audio recordings of their loved one's voice, and photo imagery they know they will use.
So sayeth The Undertaker. Prices start at a little more than US $3,000. What do you think? Is that a small price to pay for audio immortality?
Credit: Crispin Semmens
