# David Kollar

David Kollar (born 25 October 1983) is a Slovak experimental guitarist, composer, and film score composer. He has received multiple awards, including the Slovak National Film Award for Best Film Score, the Radio_Head Award for Contribution to Slovak Music, and the Esprit Award for Best Jazz Album.

## Career

David Kollar was born on October 25, 1983, in Prešov, then part of communist Czechoslovakia. He comes from a musical family—his father, Miroslav Kollar, was a bass guitarist in the local rock band Fest Classic Rock Band, and his grandfather, Jozef Tkáč, was a trumpeter in a brass band in Fričovce.
During his childhood, Kollar took lessons in acoustic guitar and later studied for two years at a jazz school in Prešov. He was a student of Andrej Šeban, one of Slovakia’s most influential guitarists, whose mentorship significantly shaped his artistic direction.
As he developed his craft, Kollar started collaborating with renowned musicians from around the world, particularly with pioneering and innovative artists such as Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn from King Crimson, Rick Cox (guitarist for Jon Hassell and Thomas Newman), Christian Fennesz, Arve Henriksen, Steven Wilson, Marco Minnemann, Gergo Borlai, Nad Sylvan, and Erik Truffaz, Nils Petter Molvaer, Eivind Aarset, among others.
Kollar is known for his highly experimental and forward-thinking approach to the guitar and sound design. His work expands beyond performance and recording, as he also writes about art and culture. He regularly publishes articles on his blog at davidkollar.substack.com and produces two podcasts: **David Kollar Podcast Sk**, which is in Slovak, and **David Kollar Podcast En**, which is in English.
His work has received significant critical recognition, and at a young age, he was honored with the Radio_Head Award for Contribution to Slovak Music, alongside numerous other awards and accolades for his contribution to experimental music and film scoring.

## Nominations and awards

* **Top 13 Records of The Year** – Guitar Moderne Magazine (USA)
* **Top Album** – Ádécouvrir Absolument (France)
* **Top Album** – Slovak doba.sk
* **Radio_Head Awards** – Nomination for Best Jazz Album
* **Radio_Head Awards** – Nomination for Best Album
* **Best Ever Albums of 2015**
* **Top 50 Best Albums** – Pitchfork (2015)
* **Progressive Rock Top Albums 2015**
* **Hudba.sk** – Nomination for Best Album of the Year
* **TMMP** – Top Albums of The Year (2015)
* **Slovak Film and TV Academy** – Nomination for Best Film Score (2016)
* **101 Modern Guitarists of the 21st Century** – Prepared Guitar Spot (Portugal)
* **Nomination for the Best Documentary Film** – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (2015)
* **Top Albums** – Musical Melting Pot (2015)
* **Top 20** – Prog Mag (2015)
* **Top 20** – CKCU (2015)
* **Top 20** – Gagliar Archives (2015)
* **Radio_Head Awards** – Award for Contribution to Music (2018)
* **Radio_Head Awards** – Best Jazz Album (2019)
* **Tatra Banka Foundation** – Nomination for Best Album (2019)
* **Slovak Film and TV Academy** – Best Film Score (2019)
* **Radio_Head Awards** – Nomination for Best Jazz Album (2020)
* **Radio_Head Awards** – Nomination for Best World Music Album (2020)
* **Radio_Head Awards** – Nomination for Best Experimental Album (2020)
* **The Fragmented Flaneur** – Top 20 Essential Albums of the Year (2020)
* **Esprit Awards** – Best Jazz Album (2021)
* **Tatra Banka Foundation** – Nomination for Best Album (2021)
* **Esprit Awards** – Best Jazz Album (2023)

## Discography
### Studio Albums

* 2005 – Free Your Minds (David Kollar Band)
* 2006 – Way from East (David Kollar Band)
* 2009 – One Night in Budapest (David Kollar International Project, DVD)
* 2010 – Film Soundtracks and Ideas
* 2011 – Equation of Time
* 2011 – Film Works
* 2013 – The Son
* 2015 – Komara
* 2015 – The Blessed Beat
* 2016 – Remixes by Tomas Mutina
* 2017 – Notes from the Underground
* 2017 – To The Bone (with Steven Wilson – guitar on "Detonation" and "Song of I")
* 2018 – Illusions of a Separate World (with Arve Henriksen)
* 2019 – Sculpting in Time
* 2020 – Unexpected Isolation (with Arve Henriksen)
* 2020 – Crime on the Bunny (with Pat Mastelotto, Arve Henriksen)
* 2020 – 10 Poems for Ronroco (with Erik Truffaz)
* 2020 – Cosmopol (with Bernhard Wostheinrich)
* 2021 – Sonic Pulses
* 2021 – Sonic Pulses (feat. Erik Truffaz)
* 2022 – A Sense of Destiny (with Arve Henriksen)
* 2023 – Echoes of Hopeful Melancholy
* 2024 – Behind the Frozen Window
* 2024 – For FM#1

## Film scores

* Witness – réžia Michail Verner
* Labyrint osudu – réžia Erik Bošnák
* Výročie – réžia Michail Verner
* Herostratos – réžia Michail Verner
* Vidíme vás – réžia Erik Bošnák
* Rana z milosti – réžia Michail Verner
* ČF 1 – živé vystúpenia v kinách k čistému filmu, réžia Michail Verner
* JA som baník, kto je viac? – réžia Roman Fabian
* Roxanne – réžia Veronika Mikalová
* Comeback – réžia Miro Remo (2014)
* Immortalitas – réžia Erik Bošnák
* Starci už len klopú – réžia Igor Jankovič
* Cooltúra – réžia Miro Remo (2016)
* Unfinished Stories – réžia David Suchar (2016)
* Stanko – réžia Rasťo Boroš (2016)
* Punk Je Hned! – réžia Juro Šlauka (2019)
* Volanie – réžia Erik Praus (2019)
* Fantastický stredovek – réžia Erik Praus (2021)
* Pandemia SK – 10 dielov (2021)
* Jokeris – krátky animovaný film, réžia Jakub Króner (2022)
* Jánošík (1921) – živá hudba k filmu (2021)
* Druhá svetová vlna – krátky animovaný film, réžia Jakub Króner (2021)
* Trančík – dokumentárny film, réžia Erik Praus (2023)
* Pravda je to najdôležitejšie – réžia Maroš Brázda (2023)
* Miki – réžia Jakub Króner (2024)
* Černák – réžia Jakub Króner (2025)

## External Links

* Official website
* David Kollar on Bandcamp