Letter to Yu

The album was inspired by Pupul's Hong Kong-born Chinese mother, Yu Wei Wun,{{Cite news |last=Peeters |first=Tom |date=March 6, 2024 |title=Catchy musical tribute from Bolis Pupul to his mother |url=https://www.tijd.be/cultuur/muziek/pakkend-muzikaal-eerbetoon-van-bolis-pupul-aan-zijn-moeder/10531499.html |access-date=March 6, 2024 |work=De Tijd |language=Dutch}} who died in a car accident in 2008.{{Cite news |last=Pearis |first=Bill |date=November 29, 2023 |title=Charlotte Adigéry collaborator Bolis Pupul announces new solo album, shares "Completely Half" |work=BrooklynVegan |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/charlotte-adigery-collaborator-bolis-pupul-announces-new-solo-album-shares-completely-half/ |access-date=November 29, 2023}}{{Cite news |last=Minsker |first=Evan |date=November 29, 2023 |title=Bolis Pupul Announces Debut Solo Album, Shares Video for New Song "Completely Half" |work=Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/bolis-pupul-announces-debut-solo-album-shares-video-for-new-song-completely-half-watch/ |access-date=November 29, 2023}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Beckers |first=Jurgen |date=March 4, 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul: "Na de dood van mijn moeder ben ik naar Hongkong gereisd. Ik dacht: shit, dit hadden we samen moeten doen" |trans-title=Bolis Pupul: "After my mother's death, I traveled to Hong Kong. I thought: shit, we should have done this together" |url=https://www.humo.be/muziek/bolis-pupul-na-de-dood-van-mijn-moeder-ben-ik-naar-hongkong-gereisd-ik-dacht-shit-dit-hadden-we-samen-moeten-doen~b5c7ed23/ |access-date=March 6, 2024 |work=Humo |language=Dutch}}{{Cite news |last=Ilegems |first=Michael |date=March 5, 2024 |title="Ik breng de mensen nu eenmaal graag aan het dansen": Bolis Pupul gaat solo |trans-title="I just like to make people dance": Bolis Pupul goes solo |url=https://www.demorgen.be/tv-cultuur/ik-breng-de-mensen-nu-eenmaal-graag-aan-het-dansen-bolis-pupul-gaat-solo~b5d9e07f/ |access-date=March 6, 2024 |work=De Morgen |language=Dutch}} 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, a collaboration with Charlotte Adigéry, in 2022.{{Cite news |last=Pilley |first=Max |date=4 March 2022 |title=Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul – Topical Dancer review: a joyous, humorous headrush |work=NME |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/charlotte-adigery-and-bolis-pupul-topical-dancer-review-radar-3175737 |access-date=4 April 2022}}

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 Deewee. With the announcement came the lead single, "Completely Half", and a music video shot in Hong Kong by director Bieke Depoorter. The album's cover art was derived from the music video shoot. The song has been described as a "simmering slice of slinky synthpop". The album's second single, "Spicy Crab", was released on 19 January 2024.{{Cite news |last=Willems |first=Jasper |date=January 18, 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul Goes Culinary With the Wonky, Whimsical "Spicy Crab" |url=https://beatsperminute.com/bolis-pupul-goes-culinary-with-the-wonky-whimsical-spicy-crab/ |access-date=January 19, 2024 |work=Beats Per Minute}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Lankford |first=Nathan |date=February 16, 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul Shares "Ma Tau Wai Road" Single |url=https://austintownhall.com/2024/02/16/bolis-pupul-shares-ma-tau-wai-road-single/ |access-date=February 17, 2024 |work=Austin Town Hall}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Helfand |first=Raphael |date=March 5, 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul's way back |url=https://www.thefader.com/2024/03/05/bolis-pupul-letter-to-yu-interview |access-date=March 6, 2024 |work=The Fader}}

Letter to Yu is an electronic dance music album which blends East Asian music – most notably Yellow Magic Orchestra – with Western synthpop. A number of tracks consist of electropop directly inspired by Kowloon. 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".

{{Music ratings

| title = Letter to Yu ratings

| ADM =7.6/10{{Cite news |title=Letter to Yu by Bolis Pupul reviews |url=http://anydecentmusic.com/review/13891/Bolis-Pupul-Letter-to-Yu.aspx |access-date=March 16, 2024 |work=AnyDecentMusic?}}

| MC =83/100{{Cite news |title=Letter to Yu by Bolis Pupul Reviews and Tracks |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/letter-to-yu/bolis-pupul |access-date=March 16, 2024 |work=Metacritic}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite news |last=Simpson |first=Paul |title=Letter to Yu - Bolis Pupul |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/letter-to-yu-mw0004151023 |access-date=April 3, 2024 |work=AllMusic}}

| rev2 = The Arts Desk

| rev2score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite news |last=Muggs |first=Joe |date=7 March 2024 |title=Album: Bolis Pupul – Letter to Yu |url=https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-bolis-pupul-letter-yu |access-date=March 7, 2024 |work=The Arts Desk}}

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite news |last=Empire |first=Kitty |date=10 March 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul: Letter to Yu review – delicate melancholy and banging beats |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/10/bolis-pupul-letter-to-yu-review-delicate-melancholy-and-banging-beats |access-date=April 3, 2024 |work=The Guardian}}

| rev4 = Loud and Quiet

| rev4score = 7/10{{Cite news |last=Goggins |first=Joe |date=March 5, 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul – Letter to Yu |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/bolis-pupul-letter-to-yu/ |access-date=March 5, 2024 |work=Loud and Quiet}}

| rev5 = MusicOMH

| rev5score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=John |date=11 March 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul – Letter to Yu |url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/bolis-pupul-letter-to-yu |access-date=April 3, 2024 |work=MusicOMH}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 8/10{{Cite news |last=Torres |first=Eric |date=March 9, 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul: Letter to Yu Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/bolis-pupul-letter-to-yu/ |access-date=March 10, 2024 |work=Pitchfork}}

| rev7 = PopMatters

| rev7score = 8/10{{Cite news |last=Horowitz |first=Steve |date=6 March 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul Offers Electronic Fusion for the Dancefloor |url=https://www.popmatters.com/bolis-pupul-letter-to-you |access-date=March 6, 2024 |work=PopMatters}}

}}

{{Metacritic album prose|Letter to Yu|positive|83|9}} 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{{'}}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{{'}}s Marshall Gu wrote that the album "bops and bangs as [Pupul] explores throbbing Detroit techno and bouncy Kraftwerkian 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."{{Cite news |last=Gu |first=Marshall |date=March 14, 2024 |title=Bolis Pupul – Letter to Yu |url=https://ra.co/reviews/35974 |access-date=March 16, 2024 |work=Resident Advisor}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Letter to Yu track listing

| total_length = 45:56

| all_lyrics = Boris Zeebroek

| all_music = Zeebroek, David Dewaele, and Stephen Dewaele

| title1 = Letter to Yu

| length1 = 3:01

| title2 = Completely Half

| length2 = 4:20

| title3 = Goodnight Mr Yi

| length3 = 3:17

| title4 = Frogs

| length4 = 4:34

| title5 = Doctor Says

| length5 = 4:02

| title6 = Spicy Crab

| length6 = 4:46

| title7 = Ma Tau Wei Road

| note7 = featuring Salah Pupul

| length7 = 3:59

| title8 = Causeway Bae

| length8 = 3:55

| title9 = Cantonese

| length9 = 4:52

| title10 = Kowloon

| length10 = 5:24

| title11 = Cosmic Rendez-Vous

| length11 = 3:46

}}

• Boris Zeebroek – vocals, production
• Stephen Dewaele – production
• David Dewaele – production
• Frank Merritt – mastering
• Mike Marsh – digital mastering
• Ill Studio – creative direction
• Thomas Le Provost – graphic design
• Bieke Depoorter – photography
• Magnum Photos – photography
• Brian K. Smith – recording, samples (track 3)
• Salah Pupul – vocals (track 7)
• Marvis Chan – vocals (track 8)
• Wei Wun Yu – vocals (track 11)

{{Reflist}}

Category:2024 debut albums

Category:Bolis Pupul albums

Category:Deewee albums

Category:Albums in memory of deceased persons

Category:Electronic dance music albums by Belgian artists

Category:Synth-pop albums by Belgian artists