“Lo-Fi Pan-Americana”

As a second-generation Filipino-American, Nicoloco grew up listening to the music of Joe Hisaishi (Studio Ghibli) and Koji Kondo (The Legend of Zelda). It’s why, as a musician, he is best known for his evocative re-imaginings of video game, liminal space, and anime tunes: hence, “Lo-Fi.”

However, as a guitarist, Nicoloco is deeply rooted in his love of blues, soul, country, classical, and jazz. His playful, sophisticated, minimalistic, textural, and heartfelt guitar playing often draws comparisons to Bill Frisell, BB King, Julian Lage, Jim Campilongo, and Adam Levy: hence, “Pan-Americana.”

At the intersection of these two worlds is “Lo-Fi Pan-Americana”: a genre all its own, propelling the full history and expressive possibility of the electric guitar into the Internet Age. Nicoloco explores this nostalgic space with his unique improvisational fluency, bespoke usage of effects, and ensemble spontaneity.

Nicoloco’s warm, insightful, and precise teaching style is informed by over a decade of teaching experience in private, academic, and ministry settings. He received an AA in Guitar Performance from the Los Angeles College of Music and a BA in Commercial Music from Concordia University Irvine, where he now serves as adjunct faculty. He is currently working towards his Masters of Music in Studio Guitar at the University of Southern California, where he also serves as a Student Instructor. 

Nicoloco also serves as Staff Deacon at Center Church, a One Gospel Network congregation based in Irvine, CA. In 2023, he led the music team to release an EP — Center Music — featuring eclectic arrangements of hymns and praise songs. He is also the creative director for their annual Christmas project, What Child Is This?: a cinematic, thoughtful, multigenre, and multimedia retelling of the Christmas story reminiscent of The Prince of Egypt. He regularly leads creative workshops for local creatives and worship teams.

Nicoloco is proudly sponsored by Retrosound Guitars. The custom guitar company is based out of Hemet, CA, and specializes in vintage-style custom-shop-level instruments.

But why “Nicoloco?” My full name is “Nicolo Miguel Arellano Co.” Merge my first and last name, and you get “Nicoloco’’: a common nickname I had as a child.