Interview with Nakaba Kotajima

RDS: Did you offer wholesale to the USA or outside Japan?

NK: I have been informed by Ultra Vybe regarding the Dig record that they we're unable due to contractual issues with the sound source. For those interested, you can try to buy it from the Japanese store at the selling price.

RDS: How many were pressed?

NK: 300 copies were pressed. I and Ultra Vybe have run out of stock and are negotiating to see if we can repress them.

RDS: Wow. If you repress, will you make them available for US? And you may want to reconsider, it may not be as desired if there is a lot of copies. If you plan to repress, I recommend not to do more than 200 to ensure desirability of collectors.

NK: I too would like to sell in US and of course outside of Japan. However, currently, under the contract between T.K. and Ultra Vibe, the only country in which we can sell our products is Japan.

That's right. We also thought that if we were going to repress, it would be between 100 and 200. For now, let's see how it goes.

RDS: Who did you license it from?

NK: We received a license from T.K Records. Since Dig is a label under T.K. Records, we checked with T.K. Records through Ultra Vybe, a company that handles T.K.'s sound recordings in Japan, to find out where the rights were located.

RDS: Where was the Master(s) sourced? Master Tapes? Record?

NK: We asked T.K Records to find a master tape, but they could not find one, so we recorded from the first pressing of the record.

RDS: Who did the vinyl Master cut? And which pressing plant pressed it? Is it a true Japanese pressing or is it pressed in another country?

NK: Master cutting and pressing were done by Toyo Kasei in Japan because Toyo Kasei had a contract with Ultra Vybe. Toyo Kasei in Japan has been pressing records since 1959.

RDS: What inspired you to repress this record? Especially after it was repressed in 2016 out of the UK. It's current highest buy is $250 USD, The OG sells for $400+.

NK: Ultra Vybe asked me if I knew of any good Sweet Soul recordings on T.K. I picked up some from T.K. Records at first, but I was not satisfied with them, so I suggested Friday, Saturday & Sunday from Dig. That suggestion was well received by Ultra Vibe, so we proceeded.

I wasn't really aware of the 2016 repress. It's sad that you can't listen to it easily even though it's a very good song, and I know that Sweet Soul and Crossover Soul are on the rise in new releases, so I thought I'd put it out when I could.

To put a finer point on it, I am a designer, so I was uncomfortable with the different font on the 2016 reprints and saddened that the song titles were typed incorrectly on Spotify. I had the opportunity to change things up a bit myself, so I released the record.

RDS: Thank you, in order to meet demand, I had to personally buy from Nakaba and various Japanese online stores at retail value plus shipping. Each order was limited to 10 copies max! And because these online stores do not ship to the USA, each order was shipped to a Japanese company who could then ship to the USA but with more shipping costs! After paying off multiple pirates and coyotes across the Pacific and smuggled across the border, these copies can now be available in Aztlan and abroad! www.razadelsoul.com 🎭🎶