HANNA KRISTALL
BETWEEN DREAM
AND
REALITY
Chapter 1
I was a dreamer, and very curious about the world
My name is Hanna.
I was baptized Hanna Guadalupe Winiarczyk-Illoldi.
Today, I am known as Hanna Kristall. I changed my middle name to Kristall as a symbol of transformation, much like a snake shedding its skin.
I am the daughter of a Mexican-Italian teacher, who later became a healthcare manager, and a Polish musician and conductor. My parents met in Italy, so four languages were spoken at home: Spanish, Polish, Italian and German. My father started out as an oboist before becoming a conductor, and as a family, we accompanied him on many of his tours — to New York, Italy, Hong Kong, Paris, Cuba...
It was an exciting way to grow up. We discovered the world as children, encountering a wide range of people and cultures from an early age.
My brother Karol is older than me, but numbers never really mattered to us - we were like twins. He instilled in me a kind of self-confidence that has stayed with me ever since. We had a very happy childhood.
My own artistic journey began at the age of four, when I learned to read and write. At six, I started playing the violin. At eleven, I discovered songwriting and my own voice, and from that moment on, I knew there was no other path for me.
That same year, my parents divorced. My dad had been my sparring partner, and his leaving changed my world. He had grown up in the quiet, beautiful countryside of Poland, where we spent many summers and which I still call home. He was my music teacher and the person who understood me without needing to say a word. When he left, something in me changed.
I felt alone and unprotected, as though I suddenly had to grow up and build my own life. And so I did.
I spent my teenage years trying to make sense of the world around me. I filled diaries, wrote stories and my first songs, had my first band, and began sewing my own clothes.
I was drawn to people with a strong, genuine spirit, people who were curious about life. I found them through books, music and movies. I loved reading biographies of artists, writers, designers, philosophers, entrepreneurs...
Looking back, something special opened up in me back then - something that would eventually become my way of expressing myself. It was the time when I began to develop my own artistic fingerprint.
As a teenager, music was my connection to the world, and when I first stepped on stage at fifteen, it didn't feel like foreign ground. I moved as if I had always been there, and I knew:
This is where I belong.
Chapter 2
The Gallery Siblings: Rock'n'Roll Business
My brother and I grew up surrounded by music, art and literature. After finishing school, we both moved to Vienna. My brother started studying architecture, while I studied philosophy.
But what we really did back then was build our own gallery. We had no business education, no money and no plan, but we had an insane amount of drive, passion and common sense. It was rock ’n’ roll.
We rented an old space in a hip neighborhood and worked non-stop. At night, we renovated the space; during the day, we organized exhibitions and gave interviews.
In my spare time, I studied and worked side jobs. Before long, our gallery had become a hangout for artists, collectors and people looking for good conversations, fun and a glass of wine.
A year later, my brother was named Gallerist of the Year by the City of Vienna.
Around that time, I knew I had to return to my music.
Chapter 3
Los Angeles
In 2016, a stroke of luck eventually took me to Los Angeles, where I recorded my debut album, Lady Mechanic.
It all started when I met Beyoncé’s bassist at the time and Lamont, a drummer who had played with Missy Elliott, The Jacksons, Robbie Williams and others, while they were on tour in Vienna. We connected instantly, and when they came off stage, the first thing they asked me was what I was doing with my life. When I told them I was a singer-songwriter, they asked to hear some demos.
So I played them on my phone, and I can still hear Lamont saying: “I love your voice - you have to record it with us.”
They didn't have to tell me twice. Three months and a crowdfunding campaign later, I was recording with some of the best musicians in LA.
We recorded the album in a week and I released it live the following year at the Viper Room on Sunset Strip, LA.
Another highlight was getting to know Michael Jackson’s brother, Tito Jackson.
We've shared moments in LA, and on several Jazz Festivals in Europe while he was on tour with his brothers. He gave me precious insights on the music business and on life. His mentorship gave me back something that I felt I had lost on my way: a perspective on life that was more than the music business. And that I remain grateful for.
Chapter 3
Berlin
LA was impactful and breathtaking.
I came back deeply inspired, feeling that my musical journey had only just begun to unfold.
In 2019, I performed at Donauinselfest in Vienna. One of my favorite bands at the time, Rakede, was also on the lineup, playing the FM4 stage the following day. Luckily, I got to see them live. I was mesmerized. I knew I wanted my own live sound to have that kind of energy.
I had no idea that the mastermind behind the band would one day become my producer.
That same year, Rakede split up. Around that time, I was working on a song called u know with a local producer, but the collaboration wasn't going anywhere, so I ended it.
That evening, frustrated with how things had turned out, I ended up watching Youtube videos. Then I came across a tutorial by Daniel Karelly from the band Rakede. I looked up his website and reached out. I was curious about his approach to songwriting and production.
Our first conversation lasted an hour and a half. I asked him everything I could think of and listened closely to his stories. It quickly became clear to me just how much experience he had. After that, we started working together remotely. I remember having a burger that same night, eating it with a huge smile on my face.
We started working on u know right away, and it turned out to be the perfect match between artist and producer. Before shooting the music video, I travelled to Berlin to meet Daniel in person and work on other songs. I've returned several times a year ever since. I've spent two summers there and come to think of Berlin as my musical home.
In the summer of 2026, I finally started releasing the music we'd been working on. Looking back, I can see how long the road has been. And yet, I feel like my life has only just begun.
