Bolis Pupul Walks Us Through His Debut Solo Album Track By Track

Today, Belgian/Chinese producer Bolis Pupul has released his debut solo album, Letter To Yu. The record is a love letter to Bolis’ mother Yu Wei Wun, who passed away in 2008 in a traffic accident and, inspired by a visit to Hong Kong in 2018 to find her birthplace, incorporates his Chinese legacy into his music. A letter Bolis wrote to his late mother, which detailed his trip to China, served as a catalyst for the rest of Letter To Yu to come to life.

“Everyday I wrote something, sometimes it was a melody, the next day it could be a rhythm, I walked around with a field recorder, recording everything around me,” Boris says. “I wrote a letter to my mother when I visited the street where she was born.”

“It was a very busy street with a lot of buses and cars passing by the whole time. A lot of loud noises sounded muted to me,” he continues. “Partly because I was so moved to finally be there but also partly because Hong Kong sounds muted because of all the tall buildings. When I crossed the pagoda in the street, I was so overwhelmed by the scent of incense that it really hit me. The chanting of the monks and the smell made me break into pieces. I missed her so hard but strongly felt her presence in that moment.”

Letter To Yu is a striking assembly of memory and future, as Bolis experiments with shimmering electronica and, in one track, even sings in Cantonese—further exploring his own Chinese lineage. The work is a grand and curious measure of synth-pop, and the 11 songs are entrenched in gratitude, lost conversations, vibrant recollections and, above all, a beautiful, familiar balance between regret, hope and familial love. Below, Bolis walks us through the inspirations and backstories of Letter To Yu.

Letter to Yu

I was never aware of the importance of my roots
Until you passed away
My heart is in my throat
My eyes filled with tears
This is where you were born
59 years ago
And I’m finally here
Why did it take me so long?
La Yu as we liked to call you
Looking for the essence
But also searching for your roots
Your ancestors
The things you once left behind
I feel so lost
Being here on the corner of Ma Tau Wai Road
Without you looking for my roots
My connections
I feel so sorry we couldn’t do this together
Enjoying this moment
My thoughts are with you
Walking down this road

Completely Half

Built around field recordings I made in the subway, you can hear people scanning their Octopus cards when entering or leaving the MTR station.

This song is about the feeling that no matter where, I’ll always feel like some kind of an outsider. It’s also a naïve and hopeful song where I think I will find something that will make me feel more at home. Looking for my mother, hoping to find parts of her, of her parents and at the same time hoping people would see me as one of them.

Sometimes I see people who remind me of her and for an instant I believe it’s her, although it’s a sad feeling I also see some beauty in it, as if we are all connected to each other.

Goodnight Mr Yi

When I was working on the music of this track my sister sent me a video of a tribe called the “Dong” (as we once had a band called Hong Kong Dong this wasn’t a complete coincidence). The Dong are a minority group living in China passing on songs from generation to generation for more than 2500 years.

When I opened her video, my own music was still playing in my studio and when I accidentally heard those chants together with my track it sounded like music to my ears. Although I still don’t know what they are singing about I decided to keep these endearing voices. To me the music sounded like a lullaby for grown ups, hence the title of this track.