MOOD For Lovin , a song produced by Anthony Thomas featuring dancehall artiste Patexx, has been certified gold in The Netherlands.

A blend of EDM and dancehall, the track was certified late last year for sales of over 20,000 copies. Featured in the MTV Netherlands reality series, Double Trouble, it was released by Spinnin Records/Warner Music last summer.

Thomas first released Mood For Lovin in 2013. It was remixed by EDM producers Freddy Moreira and Capital Candy and reached number 24 on the Dutch Top 40 Singles chart, number 22 on the iTunes Dance chart, number 59 on the Beatport Dance Top 100, and number 62 on Spotify’s most stream Dutch tracks.

This is the first hit song for Thomas, a Spanish Town native who has been involved in music production for the past eight years.

“I produced the original song track, but I have known Freddy for a while now and he asked me if I had any vocals that I could send him for a single. So, I sent him a track that I had, and he remixed it. Both of us received co-production credits on the new version,” he told Jamaica Observer.

St Thomas-based Patexx received a writer’s credit on the remix due to the producers’ use of the original recording.

Like most European countries, the music market in The Netherlands is a small one. Jamaicans have had success there, including JC Lodge with Someone Loves You Honey in the early 1980s. In 2015, Konshens teamed with Dutch singer Eva Simons on the song Policeman, which sold over 60,000 copies and earned double platinum status.

Homeg-rown labels like Spinnin Records (based in the city of Hilversum in north Netherlands) usually have deals with major companies such as Warner Bros, which helped propel a Mood For Lovin. Spinnin Records has been in existence since 1999.

Unlike most contemporary dancehall producers, Thomas does not release a lot of songs. His initial productions were by Spanish Town artistes Bencil ( Bad Mind Song) and Navino ( Wine Up Fi Mi).

He also built rhythms for other producers that drove songs like Secret Love by Christopher Martin, Third Finger by Ce’Cile and Leggo ( Get Mad Inna Di Party) by Konshens.

Thomas says the challenges of being an unknown producer in Jamaica are many.

“I don’t get the support on radio and they are really good songs. Established artistes don’t want to record for me because I am not a so-called big producer and the support I would like on the radio, I don’t really get that. I do get some airplay, but it’s like occasionally.”

He was excited when news that Mood For Lovin was doing well in The Netherlands. He was even more elated when the song got a gold certification.

Since the success of Mood for Lovin, d more opportunities have opened for Thomas overseas.

“I have some projects coming out that will be released on major labels overseas, some of which I can’t really speak about right now. I recently worked on a track with French platinum-selling dancehall/R&B artiste Colonel Reyel, which is going to be on his new album. I also have a dancehall-fused Afrobeat and EDM rhythm to be released this summer,” he said.