- LP
- Recommended
Kim David Bots
Instrumental Romance
South of North - Cat No: SONLP-020
- updated:2025-12-07
オランダのマーストリヒトにあるヤン・ファン・エイク・アカデミーの研究者で教育者。同レーベルのLyckle De Jongとも活動を共にしているマルチメディア・アーチストKim David Botsのニューアルバム。エレクトロニクス、フォーク、ジャズ、ミニマル、コラージュ、フィールドレコーディング、LO-FI、ジャンクロックなど様々な要素が交錯するアヴァンロック。ノスタルジー、ロマンス、ファンタジー、リズミックな言葉遊び。ナレーション、詩、音だけで構成された映画のようなコンセプト・アルバム。South of Northからのリリース。(サイトウ)
Track List
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1. In Need
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2. Riding My Bike Across The Lake In Wintertime
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3. Sorry Jack
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4. Step Man/Stat Man/Scat Man
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5. Breathe Yes. Breathe No.
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6. This Used To Not Be This Way, Or If So I Cannot Remember
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7. Are We Sorry?
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8. Reasonable Prices
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9. Coffee Corn
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10. We Did It
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11. Clap
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12. Instrumental Romance (full LP)
In 2023, k.d.b lived in a crumbling farmhouse on the edge of the River Maas. Each morning, he’d wake at 6:00 and walk along the river’s bank with his dogfriend Miemel, pausing at sunrise for a cup of coffee.
It’s 6:34, and a thick rug of mist rolls out across the river. It’s so dense that k.d.b can’t see the water beneath it. Then comes the sun: a single ray cutting through the mist like a tube of light, landing on Miemel’s face. In her mouth is a CD she’s picked up, and on the CD is the title Instrumental Romance.
'What is Instrumental Romance?' thinks k.d.b. 'Romantic instrumentals? Or a romance used instrumentally? As in, a romance used to get something—like love?'
Miemel drops the CD and turns her attention to a stray purple grape on the path. Grapes are poisonous to dogs, and as she bends toward it, k.d.b. shouts, “NO!” At that precise moment, a large fish rises from the mist. It launches into the air, mouth wide open, and hangs there above the clouds. His shout, having traveled across the river, bounces back towards k.d.b with a “NO,” and in perfect synchrony, it appears the fish is also shouting at Miemel. The timing is so perfect, they can’t be sure it isn’t.
The fish falls back down, entering its watery world with an eerie, splashless silence, leaving k.d.b and Miemel standing open-mouthed on the bank. Before they can register the perfection of this duet, another fish (or maybe the same one again) rises from the mist in the exact same spot and launches into the air. Without thinking, k.d.b shouts again. The word “ROMANCE” comes out. This time, however, he is slightly too late, and the word is too long, so “ROMANCE” lingers on after the fish has already fallen back down.
'What even is romance?' thinks k.d.b. 'The construction of mystery or excitement with dead red flowers and timing?'
A foghorn sounds behind him, and k.d.b turns 180 degrees to see a boat moving freight, right to left, along the River Maas. 'That’s strange', he thinks. 'If the river is there, then what’s that behind me, below the mist?'
Staring at the boat and its shipping containers as they float out of sight, k.d.b imagines a man. The man is standing at the bottom of a small valley, holding a fish. 'Who is this man, and what does he want?'
- Jacob Dwyer
It’s 6:34, and a thick rug of mist rolls out across the river. It’s so dense that k.d.b can’t see the water beneath it. Then comes the sun: a single ray cutting through the mist like a tube of light, landing on Miemel’s face. In her mouth is a CD she’s picked up, and on the CD is the title Instrumental Romance.
'What is Instrumental Romance?' thinks k.d.b. 'Romantic instrumentals? Or a romance used instrumentally? As in, a romance used to get something—like love?'
Miemel drops the CD and turns her attention to a stray purple grape on the path. Grapes are poisonous to dogs, and as she bends toward it, k.d.b. shouts, “NO!” At that precise moment, a large fish rises from the mist. It launches into the air, mouth wide open, and hangs there above the clouds. His shout, having traveled across the river, bounces back towards k.d.b with a “NO,” and in perfect synchrony, it appears the fish is also shouting at Miemel. The timing is so perfect, they can’t be sure it isn’t.
The fish falls back down, entering its watery world with an eerie, splashless silence, leaving k.d.b and Miemel standing open-mouthed on the bank. Before they can register the perfection of this duet, another fish (or maybe the same one again) rises from the mist in the exact same spot and launches into the air. Without thinking, k.d.b shouts again. The word “ROMANCE” comes out. This time, however, he is slightly too late, and the word is too long, so “ROMANCE” lingers on after the fish has already fallen back down.
'What even is romance?' thinks k.d.b. 'The construction of mystery or excitement with dead red flowers and timing?'
A foghorn sounds behind him, and k.d.b turns 180 degrees to see a boat moving freight, right to left, along the River Maas. 'That’s strange', he thinks. 'If the river is there, then what’s that behind me, below the mist?'
Staring at the boat and its shipping containers as they float out of sight, k.d.b imagines a man. The man is standing at the bottom of a small valley, holding a fish. 'Who is this man, and what does he want?'
- Jacob Dwyer
『2023年、k.d.bはマース川のほとりの崩れかけた農家に住んでいた。毎朝6時に起床し、愛犬のミーメルと川岸を歩き、日の出とともにコーヒーを飲む。 6時34分、川の向こう岸に霧が立ち込める。k.d.bにはその下の水面が見えないほどだ。一筋の光が光のチューブのように霧を切り裂き、ミーメルの顔に降り注ぐ。彼女の口には拾ったCDがあり、CDには『Instrumental Romance』というタイトルが書かれている。 インストゥルメンタル・ロマンスって何だろう」とk.d.b.は考える。それともインストゥルメンタルに使われるロマンス？恋愛のようなものを得るために使われるロマンス？ ミーメルはCDを落とし、道に落ちていた紫色のブドウに目を向ける。葡萄は犬にとって毒である。彼女が葡萄に向かって屈んだとき、k.d.b.が "NO!"と叫んだ。その瞬間、霧の中から大きな魚が現れた。口を大きく開けて空中に飛び出し、雲の上にぶら下がる。彼の叫び声は川を越えてk.d.b.に向かって「NO」と跳ね返り、完璧にシンクロして魚もミイメルに向かって叫んでいるように見える。あまりに完璧なタイミングに、ミーメルは驚いている。 k.d.bとミイエルは口を開けて堤防に立っている。二人がこの二重奏の完璧さを確認する前に、まったく同じ場所で別の魚が（あるいはまた同じ魚が）霧の中から宙に舞い上がった。思わずk.d.bがまた叫ぶ。ROMANCE」という言葉が出る。しかし、今度はわずかに遅すぎ、言葉も長すぎたため、魚がすでに下に落ちた後にも「ROMANCE」の文字が残る。 ロマンスってなんだろう」とk.d.b.は考える。「枯れた赤い花とタイミングによる謎や興奮の構築？ 背後で霧笛が鳴り、k.d.b.が180度振り向くと、マース川を右から左へ、貨物を運ぶボートが見えた。おかしいな」と彼は思う。川がそこにあるのなら、私の後ろにある霧の下にあるのは何だろう？ 船とコンテナが見えなくなっていくのを見つめながら、k.d.bは一人の男を想像する。その男は小さな谷の底に立っていて、魚を持っている。この男は誰で、何を望んでいるのだろう？ - ジェイコブ・ドワイヤー (auto-translated from information)』