The Way I Mate

Album: Farm Out (1999)
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Songfacts®:

  • When Rednex released their debut single, "Cotton Eye Joe," in 1994, they put out a bio of the band explaining how they came from an isolated village in Idaho called Brunkeflo, away from civilization. In truth, they were a group of Swedish producers fronted by Swedish performers portraying these characters, who played to the stereotype of inbred American hicks. A Swedish newspaper eventually sussed out the real identities of the band, but Rednex doubled down on the gimmick for "The Way I Mate," the lead single from their second album, Farm Out.

    The song, with a relentless high-energy techno beat, is about how the citizens of Brunkeflo procreate. Apparently, it happens in the bushes and is very loud.
  • This was written and produced by Pat Reiniz, an original member of the Rednex collective. He started with a chorus of "away away," then changed it to "the way I mate" but kept the phonetics. Once he had the title, he filled in the rest of the lyric.
  • The music video is set on a train, where Rednex and other passengers are seen whooping it up - apparently part of their mating ritual.
  • Rednex had a new female singer for this one, with Whippy (Mia Löfgren) replacing Mary Joe (Annika Ljungberg). The male vocals were by Göran Danielsson, portrayed in the video and in performance by Anders Arstrand (Ken Tacky).
  • The song underperformed, but the next Rednex single, "The Spirit Of The Hawk," did a lot better, becoming a huge hit in Germany.

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