The Third Eye

The Third Eye is proud to present the video premiere for Texas-based ambient/psychedelic solo project Slow Draw, a song off his new album called “Sons of The Culinary Arts.” The track is from Slow Draw’s new album, The Mystic Crib, which drops on November 10th.

Slow Draw is the solo project of Mark Kitchens, who also plays drums in the doom-jazz duo Stone Machine Electric. The Slow Draw project has released a smattering of interesting albums, EPs, and singles over the past several years, a vehicle for Kitchens’ explorations into ambient soundscapes, psychedelic instrumentals, and meditative cadences of drone.

No one Slow Draw album sounds quite the same, and The Mystic Crib branches out into the groovier side of stoner/psych instrumentals. The multi-instrumentalist Kitchens plays with audio samples, riffs, and various instruments to create intriguing soundscapes that reward close listening but also work well in the background.

Check out the video for “Sons of The Culinary Arts” here:

“The concept for this video is minimal, other than it can be seen as a continuation or chapter from The Mystic Crib. I’m using some of the same imagery, the masks, for this one, “ Kitchens told me. “The song, Sons of the Culinary Arts, itself was inspired by a Harold Budd song titled Rosetti Noise/Chrystal Garden and a Coda. The main attraction to that song for me is the vocal chanting, or however you’d describe it. I wanted to create something with a similar feel. I think this is one of my favorite tracks off the new album.”

Slow Draw recently premiered the video for “Into The Mystic Crib” on The Obelisk. Both videos feature the recurring theme of the masked man – I’m guessing it’s Kitchens – and a slightly creepy vibe. The videos are minimalist, as Kitchens says, but they also have a fun, art-school sensibility like something you’d see at an indie film fest. 

The masks came from Kitchens’ wife, who ordered them for an art project but didn’t like them. Instead of tossing them, Kitchens re-painted and used them for the video. Great idea! They could also work as part of a Halloween costume or a run through his Texas neighborhood on Mischief Night.

As for the track title “Sons of The Culinary Arts,” Kitchens explains he keeps a list on his phone of random track titles and band names. He wanted The Mystic Crib to have an over-arching sonic theme, but many of the titles he felt fit the songs based on his list. Some of the album’s track titles also come from random, humorous inspirations like “Daily Jacuzzi Weekly,” which he saw on a letterboard at a motel and liked because it made no sense.

The Mystic Crib sees Slow Draw depart from his usual noisy ambient pieces and into a more structured vibe described as a mishmash of Sonic Youth and the psychedelic side of The Beatles. “There’s a distinct tonal setting for this work,” the Bandcamp description reads. “It provides an ambient groove meant for one to lose themselves to or simply to have floating in the background to calm the mind as one goes about their day.” Namaste.

Get your pre-order in now for Slow Draw’s The Mystic Crib on Bandcamp. It will be released digitally and on CD and vinyl, and Kitchens will also host a Bandcamp Listening Party for the new record on November 8th at 8 p.m. CST, where you can chat about the music and ask questions.

Support Slow Draw by finding him on Bandcamp, his official website, or social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube).

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