About Me
The group Maanam was founded in 1975. In the beginning the band was made up of Marek Jackowski - guitars and Kora (Olga Jackowska) - vocals, as well as: the Greek Milo Kurtis and Welsh John Porter. Marek Jackowski and Kora continue today to be responsible for the music and lyrics of the band's almost entire repertoire. Up until 1979 the band played acoustic rock: from orientalising suits and ballads to acoustic (!) punk rock and new wave. In 1979 the band became electrified. Its composition was: Kora, Marek Jackowski, Ryszard Olesinski - guitars, Krzysztof Olesinski - bass guitar (meanwhile Bogdan Kowalewski played the bass guitar) and Pawe-- Markowski - percussion. In the 1980s Maanam was the first Polish rock band to achieve great fame in the country (for almost five years the band performed several hundred concerts per year in Poland's largest concerts halls). Maanam was the ice-breaker in paving the way for a new wave of Polish rock. In 1980, at the Polish Song Festival in Opole, Kora and Maanam shocked the Polish audience. The punk hits "Boskie Buenos" and "Zadza pieniadza" caused a mini revolution.The big revolution of Solidarity and Polish rock were the most characteristic events of the '80s in Poland. The state record company stopped producing the band's first two albums "Maanam" and "O!" due to the lack of ... vinyl. The band also appeared in a very popular film "Wielka majowka" (1981, dir. K. Rogulski). Maanam produced a large number of superhits the most important of which include "Stoje stoje", "Oddech szczura", "Szare miraze", "Hamlet", "Zadza pieniadza", "Boskie Buenos", "Szal niebieskich cial", "Karuzela marzen", "O!", "Paranoja jest gola", "Nie poganiaj mnie", "To tylko tango", "Krakowski spleen", "Jestem kobieta", "Eksplozja", "Zdrada", "Raz-dwa, raz-dwa", "Lucciola", "Simple Story", "Lipstick on the Glass".Since 1984 Maanam performs successfully in West Germany and Holland. The band's albums titled "Night Patrol", "Totalski No Problemski - Maanam In Concert" and "Wet Cat" reach those markets. Maanam also performs at festivals in Roskilde and Turku. They play at London's Marquee, and the video clip to the song "Sie sciemnia" is the first Polish clip to be released on the then international MTV channel.From 1986 to 1991, the band breaks from performing to rest from work.In 1991 Maanam returns to the Polish market in the new reality and records the album "Derwisz i Aniol". In 1992 Kora and Maanam's biography appears: "Podwojna linia zycia" [Double lifeline] (Iskra publishing house).The 1990s is a more reflective, mystical, soulful Maanam. The band's biggest success at that time is the album "Roza" (triple platinum). For the song "Wojna" from this album, Piotr Dumala created an animated video clip which was also released on MTV. The group performed in the USA, Canada and Australia.In the second half of the 1990s, Maanam records two albums: "Lozko" and "Klucz". The first of these already on the day of its premiere sells 100,000 copies. At this time the band begins to cooperate with the director Mariusz Grzegorzek. He is the author of the band's refined, aesthetising clips to the songs: "Po prostu badz", "Mowia, ze milosc mieszka w niebie", "Po to jestes na swiecie". In the 1990s Maanam holds two giant free concert tours all around Poland. Maanamu's most important hits in the 1990s include: "Wyjatkowo zimny maj", "Aniol", "Bez Ciebie umieram", "Roza", "Zapatrzenie", "Nic dwa razy", "Po prostu badz", "Po to jestes na swiecie", "Mowia, ze milosc mieszka w niebie", "Milosc od pierwszego spojrzenia", "Puerto Rico" and "Smycz".In 2000, on the band's 25th anniversary, Maanam record their subsequent studio album "Hotel Nirwana", on which, for the first time in its history, in order to enrich and diversify their sounds, they use loops, computers and samples. For this they employ the producers Neil Black (who is British) and American Barry Kinder.Furthermore, MAANAM is the first band in Central Europe to take part in the ABSOLUT ALBUM COVERS project. In October 2002 the ABSOLUT ALBUM COVERS collection is enriched by the cover of MAANAM'S album "O!". In this way the Absolut Company honours the band's achievements and its influence on the history of Polish music.In September 2003 subsequent changes take place in the composition of Maanam's band members. Ryszard Olesi--ski, Krzysztof Olesi--ski and Pawe-- Markowski leave the band of their own accord and mutual consent. Kora and Marek Jackowski stay on and invite new musicians to cooperate on the recording of the new album "Znaki szczegolne". These musicians include: Jose Manuel Alban Juarez - percussion, Bogdan Wawrzynowicz - bass guitar, Cezary Kazmierczak - keyboard instruments, Janusz "Yanina" Iwanski - guitar.Hits from the most recent period of Maanam's career are: "Pieklo i Niebo", "Chinskie morze", "Wolno wolno p--yna lodzie", "Krakow - ocean wolnego czasu" and "Do kogo bieglam" - these two are from the latest album "Znaki Szczegolne", which was released in March 2004. In May 2004 the band performed for the first time ever beyond Poland's eastern border. The former Polish communist authorities never permitted Maanam to perform in any Soviet nation. Only accession to the European Union enabled the band to perform a concert on 2 May in Vilno.Maanam, over the span of its career, has performed several thousand concerts and released over 100 titles.
