Rocker Yaago Anax, also known as Prince Midnight, has recently caught the spotlight after transforming his late uncle’s skeleton into an electric guitar.
The deceased in question was the musician’s late uncle Filip. Midnight’s uncle died in a tragic car accident in 1996 in Athens, Greece. According to Midnight, he claimed this project as a loving tribute to his uncle who had inspired his passion for Death Metal.
To Bury or Not to Bury?
Before this project, Midnight’s family had been struggling to pay rent for Filip’s plot in Greece. According to tradition, the Greek Orthodox Church disapproves of cremation. By consequence, this preference has resulted in cemeteries over-crowding and family members having to pay expensive rental fees of up to $150,000, (£108,000).
After twenty years, Midnight’s family decided to repatriate his uncle’s remains back to the United States.
Midnight explained:
“I got the box of bones from Greece and didn’t know what to do at first. Bury them? Cremate them? Put them in the attic? All seemed like poor ways to memorialize someone who got me into heavy metal.”
It had been after a brainstorming session that inspired Midnight to transform his uncle’s bones into a guitar.
The D in Death Metal Stands for “D.I.Y.”
Because of the tribute’s taboo-nature, Midnight embarked on this project alone. To build the “Skeletar,” Midnight managed to assemble a guitar neck between his uncle’s ribcage and connect it to the skeleton’s hip bones.
The project did not function without trial-and-error.
According to Midnight, several drillings resulted in snapping his uncle’s bones in half, as well as adjusting his uncle’s rickety spine with wires.
Eventually, the project worked out to be a success. After Midnight consulted with a guitar specialist, the “Skeletar” has been confirmed to work like any other electric guitar.
In an interview with Dailystar, Midnight stated:
“Now uncle Filip can shred for all eternity. That’s how he would want it. I’m super proud of the project and how it serves to honor him, his life, and his influence on me.
“My mother would prefer him to be buried, she is Greek Orthodox but admits he would probably be happier as a guitar.”
Having completed his project, Midnight hopes to record an EP with his uncle’s “Skeletar.”
Listen to Prince Midnight here.
