Courtney John rolls back the years to revisit the vintage reggae soundscape with his latest release Cool Me Down.

The single’s summery musical measure brings back memories of quiet Sunday afternoons in rural Jamaica when easy-listening selections bellowed from boomboxes, stereos and record players, while the freshly done rice and peas and fried chicken is being served with shredded vegetables on the side.

The brand-new recording could easily be shelved among any collection of beloved timeless classics from the genre.

“I got some musician friends of mine together: Kirk Bennett on drums, Beezy and Khan on guitar, Duke Dawes on keys, and Trevor McKenzie on bass. We recorded [the song] in January or February [of this year],” the artiste told the Jamaica Observer, explaining that the single went through several iterations, over the better part of a decade.

”I wrote the song in 2016 with a songwriting bredrin based out of Paris… My last album, he produced it. So we’ve had the demo version since 2016 and I have been toying to put it out every year, every summer. It’s a summer song, so it’s not something you can put out in winter. But the moment has never been right,” Courtney John said, adding that latest version of Cool Me Down was refined through studio rerecording as well as from being workshopped during touring.

“I was reading somewhere, in the latter part of last year, that the summer of 2025 is going to be the hottest in history,” the Okapi Entertainment principal said, adding that he had to strike while the iron was hot. “I had to get Cool Me Down out, so I went back into the studio and rerecord the whole thing… had to get back in the groove. It took a month to mix… the end product, I’m satisfied with it… people seem to love it.”

The singer is known for songs such as I Go Crazy, Sometimes, When You Say, Lucky Man, and Baby Tonight.

“I am doing the digital groundwork, reintroducing myself to the people… every 10n years there is a new set of people who don’t know who you are… make them aware of you. So far it’s being going good. People seem to be happy that I am still doing music,” the songwriter, who is also a producer, told the Observer.

“I’m taking my time with it, I am not falling into trying to feed the algorithm. I am going to take my time with my songs, give it to the people bit by bit. I am of the philosophy that songs are like rivers, they eventually find the ocean.”

The artiste disclosed that he has several projects in the works; one of which is possibly releasing an album.

“I don’t think the market right now is album-driven…we have to adjust to the market. It is really a singles-driven marketplace now, but mi have the songs ready… Just gonna drop a couple songs and then I’ll just release the bigger body of work.

“[But] the album is written already…the songs kind of capture a moment. I want to figure out the [album’s] direction in terms of sound. But the good thing with technology is, it can give you a snapshot of what the people dem ah vibe to,” the musician said.

He added that the “numbers don’t lie” and the statistics reflects the pulse of the musical climate and is a general guide for artistic direction.

Also in the pipeline, disclosed Courtney John, is a collaboration with fellow singer-songwriter Tanya Stephens.

“I am supposed to do something with Tanya Stephens, for how long now,” he shared. “I really ah try make it happen for this record. She’s my all-time favourite. Tanya Stephens is poet.”