Zebra (Kayah album)

1997 studio album by Kayah

Zebra

Studio album by

Kayah

Released| 23 March 1997[1]
Genre|

* Pop
* soul
* disco
* funk

Length| 64:48
Language|

* Polish
* English

Label|

* Zic Zac
* BMG Poland

Producer|

* Kayah
* Michał Przytuła

Kayah chronology
| Kamień
(1995)  | Zebra
(1997)  | Kayah i Bregović
(1999)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Europopmusic| [2]
Machina| [3]

Zebra is a studio album by Polish singer Kayah, released in 1997 by Zic Zac and BMG Poland. The album was a critical and commercial success, and spawned one of Kayah's biggest hits, "Na językach" and "Supermenka".

## Background

[edit]

Musically, the album blends contemporary pop and the 1970s disco music with elements of soul and funk.[4] All songs were written by Kayah, except for "Konferencja prasowa", co-written with Artur Affek, and two covers: The Doors' "Light My Fire" and Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?". The album was supported by two singles: "Na językach", a song about gossiping, released in February 1997, and the feminist track "Supermenka", released in May 1997, accompanied by music video with a guest appearance by Ice-T.[5] Both songs were number ones in the Polish airplay chart[6][7] and remain one of Kayah's biggest hits to date.

Zebra was a commercial and critical success, outselling her previous album Kamień. It sold 100,000 copies within weeks after premiere[8] and eventually shifted over 200,000 units, earning platinum certification in Poland. Official Polish album sales chart OLiS did not exist at the time, but the album reached number 2 in the reliable monthly sales chart published by Radio Bis. Zebra also won the Fryderyk award for the Pop Album of the Year.[9]

## Track listing

[edit]

1. "Na dobry początek" – 0:30
2. "Na językach" – 4:30
3. "Supermenka" – 3:36
4. "Serce jak szafa" – 6:50
5. "Light My Fire" – 3:56
6. "Uratujcie go" – 4:09
7. "Konferencja prasowa" – 6:06
8. "Niewidzialna" – 5:19
9. "Cogito ergo non sum" – 4:18
10. "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" – 4:22
11. "Cicho tu" – 6:35
12. "Moja sukienka" – 5:34
13. "Im więcej tym mniej" – 3:55
14. "Wszystko się skończyło" – 5:08

## Personnel

[edit]

* Kayah – vocals, keyboards, loops, production
* Michał Przytuła – keyboards, loops, music programming, mixing, production, mastering
* Krzysztof Pszona – piano (2-8, 10–14)
* Krzysztof Herdzin – piano (4, 11)
* Artur Affek – guitar (2-11)
* Michał Grymuza – guitar (14)
* Artur Kurpisz – guitar (12)
* Filip Sojka – bass (2-8, 10–12, 14)
* Magda Trybuła, Nadia Bogadżijew, Piotr Nowicki, Andrzej Gębski – strings (7, 10, 12–13)
* Piotr Remiszewski – drums (4, 7–8, 10–11)
* José Torres – percussions (2, 4, 8, 11, 14)
* Janusz Mus – accordion (14)
* Marek Podkowa – saxophone (4, 7, 10–11)
* Michał Urbaniak – saxophone (5)
* Łukasz Golec – trumpet (4, 7)
* Paweł Golec – trombone (4, 7)
* Darek Miller – harmonika (3)
* Kasia Stankiewicz – vocals (6, 11)
* Mietek Szcześniak – vocals (4, 8, 11, 14)
* Agnieszka Betley – backing vocals (2-3, 5, 7-10)
* Magda Gleinert – backing vocals (2-3, 5, 7-10)
* Grzegorz Piwkowski – mastering
* Robert Wolański – photography
* Adah Studio – graphic design

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1997)  | Peak
position

|

Polish Albums[10] | 2

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Poland (ZPAV)  | Platinum[11] | 200,000[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Zebra - Kayah - Muzyka" (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
2. ^ "Kayah". Europopmusic. Archived from the original on 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
3. ^ Bogna Świątkowska (May 1997). "Kayah – Zebra". Machina (in Polish). ISSN 1426-2312.
4. ^ ""Dzięki publiczności czuję się jak królowa". Urodziny Kayah" (in Polish). Empik. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
5. ^ "Kayah - Supermenka (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
6. ^ "Major Market Airplay" (PDF). Music & Media. London. 1997-02-22. p. 23. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
7. ^ "Major Market Airplay" (PDF). Music & Media. London. 1997-06-07. p. 27. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
8. ^ "Kayah - "Zebra": ten sukces jej się należał" (in Polish). polskieradio.pl. 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
9. ^ "Fryderyk 1997" (in Polish). fryderyki.pl. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
10. ^ Artur Orzech (1997-04-05). Ranking płytowy (in Polish). Radio Bis.
11. ^ "Bestseller charts and awards :: Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry". zpav.pl. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
12. ^ "Kayah – wywiad" (in Polish). muzyczna.pl. 2004-08-31. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2021-10-14.

## External links

[edit]

* Official audio stream on YouTube
* Zebra on Discogs

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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