For as long as I've known, Japan has had the propensity for "Japan-only" releases. This is true for both physical music releases, and merchandise. I'm not entirely sure why this is, but I've learned to accept it (and be comfortable with asking friends in Japan to pick me up a copy of something, although I really try not to do this very often).
Order a limited tee or hoodie here: https://everpress.com/hawaiian-breaks-2020
DJ Muro's Hawaiian Breaks 2020 — the latest mix is his series focusing on music from Hawaii — is, for now at least, only available in Japan. In this case, I can speak to the reasoning behind this decision. It's primarily because of the pandemic. While putting together the release over the past few months, we tossed around the idea of pressing the CDs in the US and thus distributing some throughout the States, Europe, and of course, Japan. But as guidelines became more strict and shipping delays and disruptions became more frequent, it made more sense to keep Hawaiian Breaks 2020 to a Japan-only release, for now.
In addition to the CD release, Muro collaborated with a Tokyo apparel brand, Groove Excavator Production, to press a limited run of HB2020 tees. They're mostly sold out by now, as far as I know. And they were difficult to order for anyone outside of the country. (In addition to Japan-only releases, some Japanese websites are rarely available in English, and thus prove taunting for non-Japanese speaking/reading users, yours included.)
Upon release of the CD and tee, I received a number of emails, texts, and Instagram DMs about buying the tee. I was of little help (see the bit about me not being able to navigate Japanese-laden websites).
So I decided, let's offer the T-shirt worldwide, using Everpress.
Everpress is a groundbreaking service that offers high quality, custom printed apparel with a crowdfunding-like approach. Every "campaign" on Everpress runs for a limited time, and once that campaign's duration is pau, they close pre-orders to print up the exact number of tees that were ordered. (They also offer long sleeve shirts and hoodies).
Best of all, they print and fulfill orders. So, I don't have to do anything besides provide the design, choose the apparel blanks, and set a price. The rest is in Everpress' hands. Saves me a great deal of time not having to coordinate production with an apparel printer, or fulfilling orders. What's more: since they only print the exact number of items ordered by customers, there's no overage or extra inventory. No waste, in other words.
Sounds ideal, right? It is.
Limited color tees and hoodies, available exclusively on Everpress through September 3rd, 2020.
Place your order here: https://everpress.com/hawaiian-breaks-2020
Remember, the campaign expires on September 3rd!
Selected and mixed by DJ Muro, Hawaiian Breaks 2020 tells the story of Aloha Got Soul's ever-growing catalog, from the first notes of Mike Lundy's "Tropic Lightning" to the closing tracks from FRNT BZNZZ's latest single with Nick Kurosawa and Joelene.