Stunna & Renan – The It EP [Shoot Recordings]

Stunna & Renan, two longtime collaborators in Chicago behind dnbid, join together in the studio on “The It EP”. Having thrown or promoted some of the biggest drum and bass parties in Chicago for over ten years, this pair are veteran selectors when it comes to what works on the dance floor. “The It EP” is a three track journey that has something for everyone, and there are so many details in the listening experience. I’m excited for you all to find new things on each listen through. If the creative sampling, snappy jungle drums, and fat, weighty bass lines weren’t enough, the EP also features vocal and instrumental recordings from both musicians.

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I was able to catch up with Jay Stunna to talk about this wild EP and he offered these words:

These tunes started as my first sessions in studio with Renan — ‘Feel It’ was the inaugural track we worked on, and before he showed up at my studio, I had already randomly picked a palette of samples that we forced ourselves to use to create a tune (believe Erik found the brass/funk sample, and then I played the synth keys in the breakdown to give it a more live/organic feel….. and there are a few samples with the word ‘feel’ in it, so we went ahead and named it as such). ‘Create It’ began with a few more samples from a drawn palette, some reggae vibes, and live electric guitar line played by Renan. The Bob Marley vocal sample tells a story of his definition of Rastafari – and to him, God is the head creator. ‘Pet It’ began as a very dreamy, atmospheric track, replete with singing whales. Renan does the spoken word mantra on this, and the recording was actually culled from my own wedding, where guests can leave well wishes and anecdotes to the newlyweds. Further, the tune is a nod to the ‘can I pet that dog?’ meme, where we had many laughs thinking about wanting to possibly pet a whale.

I hope you all can find some of these sonic treats within these tunes, and how they benefit the DJ as well as grab the listener. With that, let’s get into the track by track:

Feel It: Starting the EP off on a funky note, this deep and rolling jam features a stab-by horn section sample that has been chopped and looped over a variety of other vocal samples to create a really enjoyable and effective top-line groove. The drums drive and vary throughout the entire track, moving and evolving with the breaks and auxiliary percussion. One second we’re “Doing the Do” and the next phrase there is a driving bongo groove; its wonderful. This is a theme throughout this work, the wide variety in their sounds keeps the listener and dancer interested the entire time.

Create It: The reggae style intro creates all sorts of vibes before starting a huge build that focuses around the “God Creator” trope that Jay explained earlier in his quoted text. Featuring guitar from Renan, this old school style roller keeps the energy driving all the way through. Vying for a very different sound palette from “Feel It”, “Create It” is just as detailed – the progressive quality of this drum and bass keeps any set fresh and full of juicy sound. The midsections on every single tune are incredible – completely different from the intro, focused on keys and live input, and rife with Stunna signature sound. Got me bouncing in the studio.

Pet It: Opening with a message from Renan that had interesting roots (see earlier), this stepper is a huge jungle flex! Insane splashy breaks lace the punchy and oh-so-chunky bass, as you try to understand what exactly is going on with the rest of the tune. A nod to a classic meme, they sampled the whales before adding the “pet that whale” bit. WOO-HA!

What a ride. I love this EP because of the creativity involved especially in the live input. Their choices of samples are very distinct from tune to tune, so this material can be brought to almost any drum and bass gig and add a special flavor to it. This is available for purchase right now through Stunna’s bandcamp, and then out everywhere else September 27th.