Pina Kollars is an Austrian-born female

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

singer. She is usually only known as Pina.

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 The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

in 2003 and began showcasing her talent in London. She was included on a British tour supporting

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influenc ...

and sang a duet with

Afro Celt Sound System Afro Celt Sound System are a European and African group who fuse electronic music with traditional Gaelic and West African music. Afro Celt Sound System was formed in 1995 by producer-guitarist Simon Emmerson, and feature a wide range of guest ...

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on the

Real World Records Real World Records is a British record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1989 by English musician Peter Gabriel and original members of WOMAD. A majority of the works released on Real World Records feature music recorded at R ...

album, ''Volume 3: Further in Time'', singing on "Go on Through". Pina's recording on ''Further in Time'' was heard by

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

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 Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...

, praising her distinctive voice and awarding it 3/5. ''

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...

'' compared her to

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridg ...

and

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

, blending Celtic romanticism with central-European classicism. RootsWorld compared her to

Melanie Safka Melanie Anne Safka Schekeryk (February 3, 1947 – January 23, 2024), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, was an American singer-songwriter. Melanie is widely known for the 1971–72 global hit " Brand New Key", her 1970 version o ...

, praising her voice but questioning whether the lyrics meant anything. ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' 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 Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

), 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 Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

. 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.

Discography

*''However, ...Plain'' (DADC Austria, 1995) * Vocals on the song "Go on Through" from the

album '' Volume 3: Further in Time'' (2001) *''Quick Look'' (Real World, 2002) *''Guess You Got It'' (Real World/EMI, 2005) *''The Work Room Sessions'' (Real World, 2005) *''Six Foot Snake'' s Pina & 10 Stone 20(2019)

References

External links

*
PINA - "Brand New Face" at Moles Club, Bath, from YouTube
English-language singers from Austria Real World Records artists Living people Singers from Vienna EMI Records artists Virgin Records artists Folk rock musicians Pop rock musicians Alternative rock musicians Indie rock musicians Year of birth missing (living people) {{Austria-singer-stub