Stunna - Season of Change - Autumn Studio Mix - Oct 2005

Biography of Stunna

Hailing from the Windy City, Stunna (aka Jay Cappo) has been deeply immersed in the Chicago music scene for many years. Schooled in piano study from an early age, his love of jazz music turned him on to the sounds of Herbie Hancock, especially his early-70's work with synthesizers and electronics. At the age of 12, Jay acquired a drum machine and an 8-bit sampling keyboard and began to experiment with the jazzier sounds he'd listened to and also with the current sounds of Chicago House that was at the time, in its formative years. A number of years were spent performing in bands on the keyboards and alongside DJs at parties. His discovery of Rap music and the walls of layered samples by groups such as Public Enemy fascinated him and he made it his personal mission to dig and find the sources of these diverse sounds he was hearing. Jay realized that many of the current sounds within these layers were actually pieces from the jazz and funk he'd heard only a few years before. He was now hooked on the science of connecting his own sounds with various parts of music's funky past. He joined local Chicago funk bands and began working with House producers such as Roy Davis Jr. in the mid-to-late 90's, playing keys and collaborating on original tracks and remixes. Around this time he began hearing more and more of the sped-up breakbeats of many of his favorite jazz-funk drummers that were now being used by Jungle and Drum+Bass producers. After accumulating many vintage synths and new studio gear, Jay delved into creating his own brand of D+B and locked himself in the studio. When he emerged, he'd written over 50 tracks and began DJing out to fine-tune his songs. Currently, Jay continues to work on D+B, promotes many shows around Chicago, tours with bands, and DJ's around the United States as well as Europe.