Where It All Began...

L.A. indie band Kotolan plays a mix of eclectic indie synth and art pop influenced by new wave and city pop.   

Multilingual singer and synth keyboardist Junko Seki honed her musical skills early on while growing up in Japan. After finishing a degree in Spanish, she moved to the United States to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Her global curiosity and undeniable sultry voice propelled her onto stages as a solo artist in the mariachi genre, like the Hollywood Bowl with performances in Mexico, Japan and the US. Backed by renown mariachi group Mariachi Cobre and others. She has shared the stage with the likes of Chicano icon Lalo Guerrero, Linda Ronstadt and more. She continues to perform as a solo mariachi vocalist with her close network of musician friends.

In Los Angeles, Junko met audiovisual artist Otto Granillo and a new project began. Putting both their names together, they came up with their band name Kotolan. Both having a love for new wave, synth pop and city pop, they began writing songs.

After finishing his MFA at Cal Arts, Otto focused on building a home recording studio with vintage tape machines and analogue outboard gear to develop Kotolans sound. A local LA newspaper describes it as "The Far East meets the East Side."

They were asked to write a music cue and do a cameo for an independent movie in 2015 called Middle Man which was presented in 2016 and made its rounds through independent film festivals in the United States and Canada. It was released in theaters in select cities throughout the United States in 2017.

In 2017, Kotolan was added to the Los Angeles Musicians Roster by the Los Angeles Arts Commission. The Commission invited them to record live music videos with the popular YouTube channel Jam in the Van. The videos were aired as part of the Commission’s annual Holiday Celebration from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on PBS.

Kotolan has also appeared live at LA's Grand Park+The Music Center 4th of July Celebration, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Autry Museum, Levitt Pavilion Summer Concerts, Museum of Latin American Art, Eagle Rock Music Festival, The California Endowment with many other performances along the way.