The “Yu” of the title of this solo debut is multifaceted Belgian producer Bolis Pupul’s late mother, who died in 2008. She was from Hong Kong, and after her death in a road accident Pupul began investigating his neglected Chinese ancestry. Completely Half, one of this beguiling record’s lead tracks, wrestles with the intricacies of identity – he’s “100% 50%” – all the while merging European-heritage electronica with echoes of Chinese pop. Tracks such as the instrumental Spicy Crab ram home Pupul’s signature contradiction: his delicate melancholy often comes allied to banging beats, sometimes recalling the limpid work of Kraftwerk and other 70s innovators, sometimes just going hard (Doctor Says, Kowloon). The arpeggiating flourish of Ma Tau Wai Road sounds both far eastern and like Abba’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Elegant piano and dinky Casiotone beats play off on Cosmic Rendez-Vous.
Pupul’s previous full-length outing was Topical Dancer (2022) in the company of witty Belgian singer Charlotte Adigéry, where the two took down xenophobes with gleeful synth pop. Letter to Yu finds this dancefloor native expanding his already imaginative sound design. It’s sad, but also full of diversions, with Pupul’s curiosity and squelchy sense of fun ever-present.
