She released her first, self-produced solo album, Kamien (Stone), in 1996. It was a great success, consisting of melancholy pop songs. In the same year, she was voted ‘Vocalist of the Year’ by the Polish music industry and received a Fryderyk in recognition of her achievements.
In 1997, she received another Fryderyk, this time for the album Zebra, in the category of ‘Composer of the Year’. With Zebra she changed her style, moving in the direction of American soul music.
In 1999, she recorded one of the most popular Polish albums ever, with the Balkan composer Goran Bregović, entitled Kayah & Bregović: it is a blend of old Slavic songs and modern rhythms. Most of the music was composed by Bregović for the band Bijelo Dugme (White Button), which he had been a part of and movie soundtracks that he had worked on. The lyrics are both translations of the original text and inspired. In the same year she was awarded a Wiktor and another Fryderyk, in the category ‘Vocalist of the Year’.
In 2000, she released the album Jaka Ja Kayah which featured pop, jazz, and techno-influenced songs. She also released the single "Aniol Wiedzial" ("The Angel Knew") from the album, duetted with Cesaria Evora in Portuguese, and recorded English-language versions of some of her songs.
She was twice cast in advertisements for Polish mobile phone's Web - Orange POP (formerly Idea POP).
Sites: En.Wikipedia.
Kondja Mia Kondja Mia
Kayah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chichek de mi kavesa,
La luna me s′eskoresio
La mar se izo preta.
Avlame ninya kon amor,
Mira k'esto en el fuego,
Se va muerir un mansevo
Kondja mia, kondja mia,
Chichek de mi kavesa,
La luna me s′eskoresio
La mar se izo preta.
Avlame ninya kon amor,
Mira k'esto en el fuego,
Se va muerir un mansevo
Ke no vido nada de bueno
The lyrics to Kayah's song "Kondja Mia Kondja Mia" are in a Romani language called Caló. The song speaks to themes of love, loss, and death. The opening lines, "Kondja mia, kondja mia, chichek de mi kavesa" translate to "My dear, my dear, a kiss on my head." The singer of the song is being comforted by a loved one, implied by the lines "Avlame ninya kon amor" which mean "Talk to me, baby, with love."
The song takes a darker turn when the singer speaks of a young man who is dying and has seen nothing good in his life. The line "Mira k'esto en el fuego, se va muerir un mansevo ke no vido nada de bueno" translates to "Look at this in the fire, a young man is dying who hasn't seen anything good." This adds to the sense of mourning and sadness in the song.
The imagery in the song is also quite striking, particularly with the lines "La luna me s′eskoresio, la mar se izo preta" which mean "The moon has hidden from me, the sea has turned black." Overall, the song is a powerful expression of love and grief, with a somewhat mystical quality to the poetic language used.
Line by Line Meaning
Kondja mia, kondja mia,
Oh my love, oh my love,
Chichek de mi kavesa,
Whisper in my ear,
La luna me s′eskoresio
The moon is hiding from me,
La mar se izo preta.
The sea has turned black.
Avlame ninya kon amor,
Speak to me, young girl, with love,
Mira k'esto en el fuego,
Look at this in the fire,
Se va muerir un mansevo
A young man is going to die
Ke no vido nada de bueno
Who saw nothing good.
Writer(s): Tradicional Sefardita
Contributed by Eliana R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@glogmat
Niesamowita plyta... Kayah jest jednym z niewielu polskich artystow, ktorzy nie schodza ponizej pewnego poziomu.
@pimpek8
genialne! kayah jestes aniołem który śpiewa prosto z nieba tuląc ziemię swoim głosem
@aniamania251
cudowna muzyka, wręcz idealna w tle jakiegoś Oskarowego filmu : )
@krzyysia
idealna na dłuuuugie zimowe wieczory! aż chce sie zarzucić słuchawki na uszy, otulic kocem, wcisnac "play" chwycic przyjaciolke-lampkę wina i zamknac oczy...ymmm
@robertbieniek1740
Kaju ! Czesław Niemen jest z Ciebie DUMNY i ja też !!! Każda Twoja płyta to szczeble do NIeba !!! Kochamy CIĘ !!!
@izabelawoyniec3854
Niesamowite, absolutnie poruszające!!!!
@czarnazorba
uwielbiam Kayah! Piękna cudowna oryginalna, kobieta prawdziwa!
@martynartt
Kayah świetnie się wpasowuję w ten klimat... czuć magiczne gorzenie
To chyba najlepsza jej kreacja dotychczas...
jestem oczarowana
@inesselimi
Świetny utwór! Świetna płyta! Gratulacje!
@carmendelacruz7345
Gustuję w zupełnie innej muzyce, ale ta płyta mnie zauroczyła. Usłyszałam w Radiowej Trójce jakiś czas temu i aż mi włosy na rękach stanęły.
Wczoraj dałam mamie na urodziny Transoriental Orchestra i, tak mi się zdaje, ja też sobie będę regularnie słuchać. Całej rodzinie się podobają te piosenki. Myślę, że do głosu doszły tu nasze korzenie :)