And Vinyly, A Unique Service That Presses the Ashes of a Loved One Into a Playable Vinyl Record

In 2009, audio professional Jason Leach started And Vinyly a rather unique company that takes the cremated ashes of loved ones and presses it into a vinyl record. While it’s not unusual to create objects such as vases or jewelry from cremains, the idea of listening to the sound of ashes remained a bit of a gothic novelty. It wasn’t until Leach met a man who sincerely wanted to utilize Leach’s service to combine his late mother’s recordings with her ashes. The short film “Hearing Maude” by Andrea Lewis of Aeon Video tells the story of this beautiful project.

When it first made headlines in 2010, Jason Leach’s UK-based company And Vinyly – which presses the ashes of the deceased into vinyl records for loved ones wishing to hold onto their memory – appeared to be something of a macabre novelty. But there might be more to preserving the departed (quite literally) on records than first meets the eye – and ear. Hearing Madge explores how Leach’s venture was given new meaning when he was approached by a man looking to save his mother’s recollections that he had recorded shortly before her death.

via Ask, Nerdist

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.