Rednex

Rednex blend country sounds with Eurodance, creating an unusual mix that gets people moving straight away. Their concept embraces Western clichés, eccentric stage names and a line-up that has changed repeatedly over the years.

The project began in Stockholm in the early 1990s, based on an idea by Swedish producers Janne Ericsson, Örjan Öberg and Patrick Edenberg. They turned the traditional song “Cotton Eye Joe” into a dance track and assembled a group of stage characters for the project.

That studio idea became an international hit in 1994: “Cotton Eye Joe” spent ten weeks at the top of the German singles chart. Rednex continued their success with “Old Pop in an Oak”, while the ballad “Wish You Were Here” showed they could also strike a quieter note. After a longer break, they made another comeback with “The Spirit of the Hawk”, which again reached number one on the German singles chart. In 2006, they also reached the final of Sweden’s Eurovision Song Contest selection, finishing sixth.

Since 2012, Rednex have no longer performed as a fixed band, instead assembling their stage line-up from a wider pool of contributors depending on the show. What unites the changing faces is the contrast between driving dance beats, country elements and a performance full of Western posturing.