|
Willy Calderon Announces Signature Timbales with Gon Bops
Los Angeles, CA — Internationally acclaimed producer and percussionist Willy Calderon has announced the upcoming release of the Willy Calderon Neon Signature Timbales in collaboration with Gon Bops Percussion, scheduled for release in early 2026. The Neon Signature Timbales mark a historic milestone in percussion design as the first mass-produced steel timbales to feature a dual-color finish, combining neon yellow and magenta. Designed for both professional performance and visual impact, the instruments reflect Calderon’s forward-thinking approach to contemporary Latin music and stage aesthetics. With this release, Calderon becomes the youngest signature artist on the U.S. West Coast in history, further solidifying his influence as a modern innovator in Latin percussion. The collaboration brings together Gon Bops’ legacy of craftsmanship with Calderon’s global perspective as a performer, producer, and genre pioneer.
0 Comments
Willy Calderon Serves as Cultural Ambassador of Latin Music in South Korea
Seoul, South Korea — Internationally acclaimed producer and percussionist Willy Calderon recently completed a two-month cultural residency in South Korea, serving as an ambassador of Latin music and percussion. During his time in the country, Calderon presented a series of concerts, workshops, and masterclasses focused on Afro-Latin rhythms, contemporary Latin music, and cross-cultural musical collaboration. As part of the residency, Calderon recorded as a featured percussionist on the government-funded Latin jazz album Latin Jazz In Seoul by South Korean composer and bandleader Gayoung Bae, contributing to a landmark project bridging Latin and Korean jazz traditions. The album brings together international and Korean musicians in a rare cultural exchange supported by public arts funding. Calderon’s residency further solidified his role as a global cultural connector, expanding the reach of Latin music across Asia while fostering dialogue between musical traditions. His work in South Korea follows similar cultural initiatives he has led in Japan, the Philippines, China, and Singapore. Disk Union is Tokyo's biggest and best known second-hand record shop. The Shibuya location fills five floors, with the strongest selections in jazz, Latin, and rock. Those looking for punk, heavy metal, hip-hop, house, rare groove, and a number of other genres are sure to find something, too. But now, exclusively at Disk Union, you can find one of the hottest productions making Japan moves its hips, Willy Calderon's hit "City Pop Salsa" record, Project Neon: The Birth Of City Pop Salsa. The record features 8 Japanese pop classics like Bay City, Plastic Love, and the hit single, Stay With Me, all showcasing a Latin salsa rhythm! We look forward to the future collaborations between this trendsetting artist and producer, Willy Calderon, and Disk Union!
Visit Disk Union  Willy Calderon's most recent album, Project Neon: The Birth Of City Pop Salsa, has been nominated by the World Entertainment Awards voter panel for Best Latin Album.
Considered the creator of "City Pop Salsa" or "J-Pop Salsa," Calderon fuses 1980's Japanese Pop music with the Latin style called Salsa, and his lead single, Stay With Me, has been leading the airwaves in the Latin dance markets of Asia, South America, Mexico, and Europe. The album is also on the ballot for Best Tropical Latin Album and Best Global Music Performance at the 67th annual GRAMMY Awards® by Sam Harris, WEA  City Pop makes it to the GRAMMY® ballot in the form of the hot new genre, City Pop Salsa or J-Pop Salsa, which fuses 80's Japanese Pop music with Latin rhythms to make a fresh new Salsa that is taking the Latin American and Asian markets by storm.
City pop is a form of Japanese pop music that emerged in the late 1970s and peaked in popularity during the 1980s. It was originally termed as an offshoot of Japan's Western- influenced "new music", but came to include a wide range of styles – including funk, disco, R&B, and soft rock– that were associated with the country's nascent economic boom and leisure class. When Japan’s economic bubble burst in 1991, City Pop faded into obscurity. In 2017, an anonymous user uploaded Mariya Takeuchi’s classic, Plastic Love, to YouTube, which gave this dead genre a viral rebirth. Now, Willy Calderon’s latest album titled, Project Neon: The Birth Of City Pop Salsa, marks the first ever “City Pop Salsa” crossover consisting of 8 of Japan’s most beloved songs from the 80’s. Japanese radio DJ and founder of SALSA.ORG/SalsaJapan!, dubbed the first single off the album, Stay With Me, the “birth of city pop salsa,” inspiring the name of the album and, in turn, creating a brand new genre of music. The album is now nominated in the category of Best Latin Album in the World Entertainment Awards and is now on the ballot in the 67th GRAMMY® awards. Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Willy Calderon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Willy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you? Every music production I take on is meaningful and important. I don’t start anything unless there’s magic around it. The ideas flow from a higher source and I’m really just there as a vessel. My debut album, L.A. Impromptu, was really important in my production career. I had released and recorded on other albums prior to that release, but this was my first time really showcasing my talent as a producer. I gathered 30 of the world’s best musicians and put them on one album. This process took 5 years of traveling from studio to studio, troubleshooting, polishing, and dealing with people’s schedules. But in the end, the album really hyper-launched my career as a record producer. Then, I came out with my 2nd album, Project Neon: The Birth Of City Pop Salsa, which gave me the title of creator of a new genre of music, City Pop Salsa or J-Pop Salsa, where I fused salsa music with 80’s Japanese pop songs. This album gave me my real first “hits” reaching hundreds of thousands of streams and music video views in its first few months out. As an independent artist with no financial backing, I consider this a milestone. I’m currently working on a documentary/song called “La Historia Del Tambor,” where I take the listener on a musical journey through the history and geography of the drum, along with a massive, star-studded roster of solo artists. I think this will garner a lot of attention and will inspire many people. Full Article Here @ Canvas Rebel canvasrebel.com |
AuthorNews and updates on Willy Calderon. Willy Calderon is an American, award-winning record producer and musician. Archives
December 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
