Ending the week off with a bang today and we’re definitely feeling this previously unreleased gem from the Portland, OR funk scene from the 1970s. Albina Music Trust have dug deep and brought out this fantastic slice of funk that needs to be listened on your turntable today. The band is Slickaphonic and this never put out reel-to-reel session is one heavy trip.

The nine-piece dynamite outfit was a force to be reckoned with when the now lost Portland funk scene was in full swing. Featuring six tracks, the record is really a diamond in the rough. “Doin’ It”, a stone cold neighborhood classic (with a top notch break to boot), written by Pleasure’s Doug Lewis sits alongside sizzling hot platter instrumental tracks like “Bubba”, the ballad “Back Into My Life Again” (aww yeah, this one is for all the ladies in the house), and a cover tracks as you would expect from that time period such as “Pick Up The Pieces”. The track that really resonates, as it could be 2021 as much as it could be 1975 is “I Shot Him Down”. A take on a Bob Marley track, but with a spoken word section that tells a story of a Green Book road journey’s notes, run ins with law enforcement, a story that is similar to the right here, right now. Powerful stuff and an interesting take on the cut. All in all, this is a great discovery and a great discovery of one band from the Greater Portland area’s funk scene’s good work. The record was rescued from a North Portland basement and mastered by Gus Elg (Nu Shooz, Funky Drive Band, First Touch). Former members of Slickaphonic are still active in the city’s music scene, and am sure are thrilled to have this piece of their past resurrected for the new generation of funk lovers to groove to. Well done by Albina Music Trust. The finest in Portland soul, jazz, disco & outsider funk says it all, and more.

More info and order the record here.

Dig Deeper!