Mabu's Madness - M-squareLimited 'fire orange with black streaks' colored vinyl LP pressing. Another insanely rare and highly coveted soul funk gem from the tiny Maple label, which was part of Sylvia Robinson's All Platinum empire, and punched way above it's weight when it came to '70s R&B. The one creative constant at the imprint was producer Johnny Brantley, who worked with everybody from Lee Moses to the Ohio Players to Lou Donaldson and even produced some early sides with

He wrote his compositions from his head

Bigwalkdog boasts a gruff and intense delivery

meaning "journey" in the Amharic language

prompts both the performer and the listener to reflect

and one of the standout tracks

and brass) and stops along the way for affectionate renditions of then-faves by Bubble Puppy

The band's debut is the first time Alder and Zonder have recorded together since 2004

as like-minded as twins

Soul-stirring

Now they are back from the frostbitten twilight kingdoms with 8 tunes from the realm beyond

Hank Azaria

the band hone in on a bigger and more focused sound