This unsurprisingly has turned out to be a sell-out EP. i.e. wherever the 12 was stocked, it disappeared in a blink. Munich-based dub obsessive, Captain Yossarian, having previously reworked the Bob Marley songbook, here, focussed his mixing desk manipulations on 4 Fela Kuti classics. The cuts feature a total of 10 players, and fellow afrobeat enthusiasts, including Jimi Tenor. Together, authentically recreating Fela’s fidgeting, phrenetic, politically-charged funk. In super tight synergy, showcasing a syncopated masterclass of assorted drums, reeds and brass. However, this is only half of the story, since once a groove is established, well, that’s where the “dub” starts.

On “Zombie”, smashed snares begin to double in delay and while the beat continues to shuffle, everything is suddenly dropped into echo. From there on in, elements fly about, the debris shimmering, shaking, rhythm guitar flickering. To only be reunited for brief bursts of the song’s hook. “Sorrow, Tears & Blood” opens with Korg MS10 sirens before quickly submitting to filtering and EQing mutations. The crazy backwards-and-forwards percussion on “Expensive Shit” rivals Mad Professor’s remix of Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, from a few years back. 

“Water No Get Enemy”, though, is, perhaps, the standout. We get 3 minutes of the original’s irresistible, instantly recognisable laidback jazzy lilt, prior to the cool keys, horns and scratchy fretwork being washed away in rain and wind-like whooshes. What’s left sorta resembles Doug Scharin’s HiM, while the funk gets swapped for skanking. 

Captain Yossarian’s “Fela Kuti In Dub” can be ordered directly from Agogo Records.