There is a mento fever in the dancehall air, and Currentzicks is one of the artistes infected by that nostalgic bug as his song, Hill And Gully, was recently released on the Inviting ‘riddim’.

The single is produced by Most Wanted Records, a label from Spanish Town.

Currentzicks told Observer Online that he has always liked mento, a folksy genre that took off in the 1940s. He gave Hill And Gully a dancehall edge to bridge the generation gap.

“It was always an idea I had to remix some of the old school dancehall music with a fusion of the new school sound, preserving a cultural expression in my own way. I am here to cater for different genres, but for now I am aiming for the ‘die-hearted’ dancehall souls,” he said. 

Hill And Gully was released during a mini mento renaissance in Jamaica. The ‘riddim’ of the same, produced by Stephen ‘Di Genius’ McGregor, has sparked renewed interest in that genre which retains a following in local cultural circles.

The Manchester-born Currentzicks’ interest in mento comes from an entirely different place.

“I grew up watching the Hill And Gully Ride programme, so it (mento) was embedded in my childhood,” he said.

The longrunning programme aired on Television Jamaica. It visited some of the most remote communities in Jamaica, and focused on residents’ embrace of traditional lifestyle customs.

That show’s theme song is a mento standard.

Currentzicks has been a recording artiste for over 10 years. Bull ina Pen and Top Johncrow are two of his previous songs.

— Howard Campbell