Bolis Pupul shared his new single “Ma Tau Wai Road” taken from his debut album Letter To Yu, out 8th March. “Ma Tau Wai Road” is a masterful blend of silky smooth grooves and surreal techno pop, which sounds like Marie Davidson behind the controls of a new Pacific Breeze compilation. It follows previous singles “Completely Half” which came paired with an art-house video by Magnum photographer Bieke Depoorter, filmed in the heart of Hong Kong, and the blazing hot “Spicy Crab”.
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Bolis Pupul shared his new single “Ma Tau Wai Road” taken from his debut album Letter To Yu, out 8th March. “Ma Tau Wai Road” is a masterful blend of silky smooth grooves and surreal techno pop, which sounds like Marie Davidson behind the controls of a new Pacific Breeze compilation. It follows previous singles “Completely Half” which came paired with an art-house video by Magnum photographer Bieke Depoorter, filmed in the heart of Hong Kong, and the blazing hot “Spicy Crab”.
Speaking on the meaning of “Ma Tau Wai Road”, Bolis shares, “I wrote this song in a hotel room just around the corner of my mother’s birthplace on Ma Tau Wai Road in 2019. It’s a song about gratitude and regret, two feelings that go hand in hand when I’m in Hong Kong. Back in Belgium I asked my sister Salah Pupul if she wanted to sing this song. Besides being a great visual artist she is also a very talented singer with whom I’ve made a lot of music in the past.
Prior to the recording session she had never been to Hong Kong, but when we decided to make a video for Ma Tau Wai Road, I wanted to film her being a small part of this giant city. I enjoyed every minute with my sister in Hong Kong, mirroring each other since we were kids. Made with lots of love and compassion dedicated to our beloved mother Yu Wei Wun.”
Letter To Yu is a love letter to Bolis’ late mother who passed away in 2008 in a traffic accident. Born to a Belgian father and Chinese mother, growing up in Gent, Bolis had not negated his Chinese roots exactly – his mother was born in Hong Kong – but he certainly hadn’t embraced them. However, in the wake of his mother’s passing, he began coming to terms with his heritage. “When I started to think about my roots, instead of being ashamed of them, I started to embrace them,” he recalls. “And so it became more and more important for me to get in touch with them.”
The creation of Letter To Yu has been a pivotal and liberating experience for Bolis. “Even though this trip was very emotional and at times sad, I also had some great times that just made me really happy,” he concludes. “This resulted in a very uplifting melody where I felt like I could handle my life.”
Tour dates:
17th Feb – Artefact night – Leuven, Belgium
2nd March – Les Inrocks – Paris, France
15th March – Wigwam – Shanghai, China (dj)
21st March – Wintercircus – Ghent, Belgium
22nd March – Trix – Antwerp, Belgium
28th March – Apollo – Milan, Italy
30th March – Push The Button – Ostend, Belgium
31st March – Listen – Brussels, Belgium
19th April – Motel Mozaique – Rotterdam, Netherlands
20th April – Little Waves – Genk, Belgium
15th May – The Social – London, UK
16th May – The Great Escape – Brighton, UK
22nd May – Kantine Berghain – Berlin, Germany