Maanam is a popular Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 rock band

Rock Band

Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

, formed by Marek Jackowski, Kora

Olga Jackowska

Olga "Kora" Jackowska is a Polish rock vocalist and songwriter. She is the lead singer of the Polish rock band Maanam. She also provided the voice of Edna Mode in the Polish language dub of The Incredibles....

 (Olga Jackowska) and Milo Kurtis in 1976. Originally an acoustic outfit, the band went electric in 1980, and since then has recorded some of the best-selling singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 and albums in Poland over the past 25 years.

During the first half of the 1980s, Maanam featured an energetic, guitar-centred post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

 sound. Kora's vocal gymnastics were an example of iconoclastic international female pop vocalists of the time, and showcased the consonant-laden Polish language

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

 as one perfectly suited to rock sounds. In 1988, Maanam's "Sie ściemnia" became the first Polish music video to air on the international MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

. Maanam's sound in the 1980s could be considered a cross between Nina Hagen

Nina Hagen

Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress.-Early years:Hagen was born as Catharina Hagen in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen , a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen, an actress and singer...

, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Blondie

Blondie (band)

Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...

.

In the 1990s, Maanam acquired a more melodic, and equally catchy, sound.

In 2007, Marek and Olga (Kora) announced the suspension of the band for an indefinite period of time. The two have since been performing with other musicians.

Guitarist Janusz Iwański

Janusz Iwański

Janusz Iwański, best known as Yanina, is a Polish jazz and rock guitarist, composer, songwriter and vocalist. He has performed with the groups Tie Break, Soyka Yanina,and Maanam...

played with the group for some time.

Discography

• 1980 Maanam
• 1982 O!
• 1983 Night Patrol
• 1984 Nocny Patrol
• 1984 Totalski No Problemski
• 1984 Kminek dla dziewczynek
• 1985 Wet Cat
• 1985 Mental Cut
• 1988 Live
• 1988 Sie ściemnia
• 1991 The Singles Collection
• 1991 Derwisz i anioł
• 1993 Maanamania Warszawa
• 1994 Róża
• 1996 Łóżko
• 1998 Klucz
• 2000 Hotel Nirvana
• 2004 Znaki szczególne