''Letter to Yu'' is the solo debut album by Belgian musician Boris Zeebroek under the name

Bolis Pupul Boris Kor Tom Zeebroek (born in 1985 or 1986) is a Belgian musician, known by the stage name Bolis Pupul. He is best known for his collaborative work with Charlotte Adigéry, and particularly for their debut album ''Topical Dancer''. His solo deb ...

. It was released on 8 March 2024, by Soulwax's record label

Deewee Deewee, stylized as DEEWEE is a record label founded in 2015 by David and Stephen Dewaele of the band Soulwax. The label operates from a building in Ghent (Belgium) that the Dewaele brothers nickname ''DEEWEE 001'', referring to it as the first ...

. Pupul produced the album with Soulwax's Stephen and David Dewaele, recording at their studio in Ghent. The album was inspired by Pupul's mother who died in 2008, and by subsequent travels to her native Hong Kong. It centers on a letter Pupul wrote to his late mother. The album mixes electronic dance music, East Asian music, and

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

, and also includes field recordings from Hong Kong. It was received positively by critics.

Background

The album was inspired by Pupul's Hong Kong-born Chinese mother, Yu Wei Wun, who died in a car accident in 2008. Pupul took a trip to Hong Kong in 2018, and per a statement, "On the first day I arrived in the city I visited the street where she was born and wrote her a letter. This letter became the centerpiece of my record." After returning from Hong Kong, Pupul read part of the letter to the Dewaele brothers while also showing them demos. Their enthusiasm inspired the confidence for Pupul to record the whole letter, ultimately making it "the coat rack on which the entire record was hung." The album is Pupul's solo debut. He had previously released the album ''

Topical Dancer ''Topical Dancer'' is a studio album by Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul and co-written and co-produced by Soulwax. Released on 4 March 2022 under the label Deewee, ''Topical Dancer'' is Adigéry and Pupul's debut album as a duo. Background ...

'', a collaboration with

Charlotte Adigéry Charlotte Adigéry, also known as WWWater, is a Belgian musician. Early life and education Adigéry was born in France and grew up in Ghent, Belgium. Her mother was Jewish, born in France. She is of Martinican and Guadeloupian descent. Her fami ...

, in 2022.

Recording and release

Pupul recorded the album at Soulwax's Deewee Studios in Ghent, and produced it along with Soulwax's Stephen and David Dewaele. The album was announced on 29 November 2023, with a release date on 8 March 2024, by Soulwax's record label

. With the announcement came the lead single, "Completely Half", and a music video shot in Hong Kong by director

Bieke Depoorter Bieke Depoorter (born 1986) is a Belgian photographer. The relationships she establishes with her subjects lie at the foundation of her practice. Depoorter is a member of Magnum Photos and has published the books ''Ou Menya'' (2011), ''I am About ...

. The album's cover art was derived from the music video shoot. The song has been described as a "simmering slice of slinky

". The album's second single, "Spicy Crab", was released on 19 January 2024. The third single, "Ma Tau Wai Road", was released on 16 February, featuring vocals from Pupul's sister Sarah, credited on the record as Salah Pupul. It is named after the street in Hong Kong where their mother was born, and inspired by learning that the maternity clinic where she was born had since become a nursing home.

Style

''Letter to Yu'' is an electronic dance music album which blends East Asian music – most notably Yellow Magic Orchestra – with Western

. A number of tracks consist of

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

directly inspired by

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

. Songs also include instances of field recordings from Hong Kong, including the sounds of frogs, the voice of a doctor Pupul visited, and sounds from a train platform on "Completely Half".

Reception

'' Loud and Quiet''s Joe Goggins called ''Letter to Yu'' "an endearingly intimate album that captures the thrill of Zeebroek's immersion in his ancestry." '' PopMatters''s Steve Horowitz wrote that "Something is inviting about the Chinese touches on Western dance floor beats. Bolis Pupul belongs to both worlds and invites one to appreciate the connections and juxtapositions between them." '' De Tijd''s Tom Peeters called the album a "remarkably digestible piece of work." ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

''s Joe Muggs called the album "quite a magical record that honestly doesn't need all that much explanation to enjoy hugely." '' Pitchfork''s Eric Torres wrote that "Pupul imbues his songs with personality and soul, unearthing complicated truths about his relationship to his heritage while finding welcome release on the dancefloor." ''

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. It was established in 2001. ''RA''s editorial team provides news, musi ...

''s Marshall Gu wrote that the album "bops and bangs as upulexplores throbbing Detroit techno and bouncy

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

ian synth pop, overlaying those genres with recordings of his time in Hong Kong to create a deeply spiritual album that fuses traditions, lineages and memories."

Track listing

Personnel

* Bolis Pupul – vocals, producer * Stephen Dewaele – producer * David Dewaele – producer * Salah Pupul – vocals (7)

Charts

References

{{Reflist 2024 debut albums Bolis Pupul albums Deewee albums Albums in memory of deceased persons Electronic dance music albums by Belgian artists Synth-pop albums by Belgian artists