It was a tremendous honor to be invited to Rick Beato’s studio in Atlanta for an interview.

During our conversation, which lasted over an hour, we talked about my musical journey, my creative process, my experimental approach to the guitar, and the musicians who have shaped and inspired my musical thinking, including Eivind Aarset, Arve Henriksen, and Christian Fennesz.

Coming from a small country like Slovakia, this was a truly special moment for me. As a young boy, I could never have imagined where music would one day take me.

I'm deeply grateful to Rick for the invitation, his genuine interest in my music, and such a wonderful conversation.

Watch the full interview on YouTube:

“Forgotten Tape” from David Kollar’s latest album Music From The Bag will be featured on the Horizon Broadening Hour on CKMS 102.7 FM Radio Waterloo in Canada.

The show airs tonight at 10:00 PM EST and is also available to listen to anytime online.

Many thanks to Richard Giles and Radio Waterloo for the support!

LINK

Listen to Horizon Broadening Hour #149

Really happy to see that two of my albums — CALLS and KOMARA II — have been nominated for Jazz Album of the Year at the Esprit Jazz Awards 2025.

These two records are quite different from each other.

CALLS is basically my musical diary — built around real phone conversations with friends and musicians from different parts of the world while I was making the album.

KOMARA II is a very special record for me. It’s one of those projects that opened doors I never really imagined would open. Making music with Pat Mastelotto, Paolo Raineri and Trey Gunn, and having Adam Jones from TOOL create the artwork still feels a little unreal.

So having both albums nominated in the same year makes me really happy.

Big thanks to everyone who was part of these records, and to the Esprit Jazz Awards for the nominations.

SOLACE, the new album by Jonathan Crossley, David Kollar and Lukas Ligeti, is out now on 7D Media.

The album was born from a 2024 artistic residency at the University of Liverpool and captures a fully improvised musical dialogue between guitars, electronics and Lukas Ligeti’s distinctive polymetric drumming.

The title track features special guest Arve Henriksen on trumpet.

SOLACE moves between ambient textures, intricate rhythmic structures and spontaneous interplay — music created entirely in the moment.

Released worldwide by 7D Media and available digitally and on CD.

Listen / order:
7D Media – SOLACE

I’ve just published a new blog inspired by One Hundred Years of Solitude.

It’s not really a review of the Netflix series. It’s a personal reflection on family, childhood, solitude, the things we inherit from those who came before us, and what we choose not to pass on.

To what extent am I what other people have made me, and at what point do I begin to become the author of my own life?

And ultimately, one simple question:

What is human life about?

Read One Hundred Years of Solitude

I’ve just returned from three days in Brno, where I had the chance to perform with Erik Truffaz and the Gustav Brom Radio Big Band at Špilberk Castle.

It was a strong experience — a sold-out concert, Miles Davis, rain, friends, and a lot of laughs with Erik.

I wrote about the concert, the preparation, my approach to playing, and the three days in Brno on my Substack.

The full concert recording from Czech Radio is included in the article.

Read the full story →
https://davidkollar.substack.com/p/three-days-in-brno-with-erik-truffaz

 Join me for the "Music From The Bag" Listening Party

In two days we'll listen to the entire album together on Bandcamp. I'll be there in the live chat, sharing stories about how these pieces came to life, answering your questions, and talking about the sounds, guitars, and ideas behind the music.

This album is a collection of compositions that waited patiently for their moment—music that stayed in my creative bag for years before finally finding its place.

I'd love to spend the evening with you.

Tuesday, July 28
7:00 PM CEST

See you there.

David

THE LINK

After nearly ten years of collecting musical ideas, my new album Music From The Bag will be released on July 30, 2026.

The album grew out of riffs, sketches and demos that had been waiting for the right moment. Some pieces lean towards rock, others towards fusion, but they all share the same story—a return to music that had been left unfinished for years.

While working on the album, I also explored new creative technologies. Some of the rhythmic layers were created with the help of artificial intelligence and were then programmed, layered and further developed as part of my own creative process.

The album artwork is one of my own charcoal drawings created on an old sheet of manuscript paper. Over the past months, I've been exploring abstract charcoal drawing, and it felt like the natural visual companion to this music.

The first four tracks are already available on streaming platforms, while the full album will be released on July 30, 2026.

If you'd like to learn more about the story behind the album, I've written about the entire creative process on my Substack.

→ Read the full story:
https://davidkollar.substack.com/p/music-from-the-bag-2ce

In the Visual Art section, you can now find new works.

I recently started creating charcoal improvisations on paper while waiting for the next film I’ll be composing music for.

These pieces come from the same place as my music — direct, intuitive, without overthinking.

If you’d like to support my work in a time of streaming and the slow disappearance of physical formats, you can choose one of these artifacts.

David

A new blog post is now available on my Substack:
Read “Notes from the Last Few Days”

This text is a personal reflection on the past few days — on work, music, physical and mental fatigue, and the uncertainty of the times we live in. It moves between everyday moments, creative struggle, and a deeper question of what it means to continue creating in a world that often feels unstable and divided.

It’s not a finished statement, but rather a raw and honest snapshot of where I am right now — both as an artist and as a human being.