Bolis Pupul
- Main StageMonday 15•July•2024
It’s no coincidence that Bolis Pupul’s music sounds the way it does. Born in Belgium to a Chinese mother and Belgian father and raised in the super-cool creative city of Ghent, Bolis’ music is a joyous cross-cultural assemblage. Mixing widescreen electronica - think early Mr Fingers-like techno and Yellow Magic Orchestra’s exuberant man-machine minimalism - with the warm-hearted and wonky naivete of Belgian New Beat, Bolis’ singular sonics are at once playful, emotive, unrelenting and tender.
The real key to unlocking Bolis’ musical secret, however, is that conversation he has between his Eastern and Western roots. It was something he subconsciously touched upon on his first two releases for David and Stephen Dewaele (Soulwax/2manydjs)’s DEEWEE label. However, it’s something that he has unapologetically and enthusiastically explored properly on his solo debut LP, 'Letter To Yu’, following his acclaimed 2022 collaboration with Charlotte Adigéry, 'Topical Dancer’.
His solo debut 'Letter to Yu' is literally a letter addressed to his late mother Yu Wei Wun, whose birthplace he went to Hong Kong to find. Songs like 'Ma Tau Wai Road' (exactly where he wrote this), 'Completely Half' (based on field recordings) and 'Spicy Crab' literally evoke this search.
