Kim David Bots – Instrumental Romance (LP)

In 2023, k.d.b lived in a crumbling farmhouse on the edge of the River Maas. Each morning, hed wake at 6:00 and walk along the rivers bank with his dogfriend Miemel, pausing at sunrise for a cup of coffee.

Its 6:34, and a thick rug of mist rolls out across the river. Its so dense that k.d.b cant see the water beneath it. Then comes the sun: a single ray cutting through the mist like a tube of light, landing on Miemels face. In her mouth is a CD shes 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 somethinglike 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 cant be sure it isnt.

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. ‘Thats strange’, he thinks. ‘If the river is there, then whats 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