Birth name Pina Pertl Role Singer | Name Pina Kollars Years active 2001–present | |
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Occupation(s) Singer
multi-instrumentalist
record engineer
record producer Instruments Vocals
guitar
keyboardist
percussion Albums Quick Look, Guess You Got It, Hum, Con el paso cambiado, Hum Remixed, The Work Room Sessions Genres Folk rock, Pop rock, Alternative rock, Indie rock Record labels Real World Records, Virgin Records, EMI Records Similar People Afro Celt Sound System, Liam O'Flynn, Peter Gabriel | ||
Associated acts Afro Celt Sound System | ||
Pina Kollars is an Austrian-born female folk rock singer. She is usually only known as Pina.
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Early years
Pina Pertl was born in Vienna and raised by her grandparents. She began writing songs in her teens and studied classical guitar at the city's conservatorium. She began studies in medicine, but decided on a career in music instead. She found making a living from music in Austria was difficult and relocated to Cork, Ireland, in 1997.
Music career
Pina's songwriting was inspired by the isolated countryside, and she formed her own band to play on the local music circuit. She played at the Glastonbury Festival in 2003 and began showcasing her talent in London. She was included on a British tour supporting Ani DiFranco and sang a duet with Afro Celt Sound System's Iarla Ó Lionáird on the Real World Records album, Volume 3: Further in Time, singing on "Go On Through".
Pina's recording on Further in Time was heard by Peter Gabriel and he released her first album, Quick Look, on his Real World Records label. Billboard called it an "extraordinary debut", praising her as a "gifted" instrumentalist and a writer of "compelling lyrics." AllMusic compared her to Stevie Nicks, praising her distinctive voice and awarding it 3/5. Les Inrockuptibles compared her to Nick Drake and Emmylou Harris, blending Celtic romanticism with central-European classicism. RootsWorld compared her to Melanie Safka, praising her voice but questioning whether the lyrics meant anything. Classic Rock found her a bit self-obsessed.
In 2005 Pina released her second album Guess You Got It.
Personal life
When she moved to Ireland, Pina was married to Helmut Kollars (b. 1968, Graz), a writer and illustrator of children's books. The couple had a daughter, Luise Magdalena, but divorced before the recording of Pina's first album. Kollars went on to work as a freelance illustrator for publishing and advertising in Ireland, Belgium and the US, and eventually settled in Kassel.
Pina had a second daughter in 2006 and married musician Andy Hogg in 2009. In 2007 she completed studies to become a nutritional therapist and moved back to Vienna.