Her dead father left her 10,000 records. Sharing them online helped her grieve – and get to know him

Jula with her dad’s record collection. Photograph: Jula

Jula began sampling albums from her father’s extensive collection on Instagram. Her ‘listening parties’ connected her with people who shared his passion

(via The Guardian) by Alaina Demopoulos

When Jula’s father died, he left her his vinyl collection – close to 10,000 records that included everything from opera to 60s psych to prog rock to new wave. At first, it felt overwhelming to look at shelves and shelves of records. But this summer, Jula, who is 24 and lives in Canada, decided to “sample” a few records. A friend suggested she post the process on Instagram. “She said, ‘There are people who are your father’s age who would recognize the records, and maybe you could find a small community of people who you can connect to, to keep that alive,’” Jula said.

Jula with Lou Reed’s 1984 album New Sensations. Photograph: Instagram user @soundwavesoffwax

She started randomly pulling records, recording her reactions, thoughts and commentary for albums beloved by boomers from artists like Harry Nilsson, the Moody Blues, Santana and the Beach Boys. Since first posting in September, Jula, who prefers not to give her last name, has amassed more than 322,000 followers on her account, @soundwavesoffwax.

Jula grew up in a house full of sound. Her father, Richard, was a lifelong music lover who played multiple instruments and wrote songs. “He told me that when he was five years old, he would do little chores for his grandfather, and use the allowance to buy records,” Jula said. She remembers him spinning the Archies, the Monkees and Frank Sinatra when she was a child. (Jula now makes her own music under the moniker Juli.Jeli, which she describes as “experimental electronic”.)

When Richard died a few years ago, those records became the only physical thing Jula had left of her father. “It’s like the last thing we have left of him, so even though they take up a lot of space, I knew I didn’t want to get rid of any.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/nov/21/father-vinyl-records-instagram

See also: https://www.discogs.com/digs/features/a-daughters-journey-through-her-late-fathers-record-collection/