Free Moral Agents
| Free Moral Agents | |
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Free Moral Agents performing at Low En Theory
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Long Beach, California, USA |
| Genres | Jazz, Hip hop, Psychedelic, Dub |
| Years active | 2003-2014 |
| Labels | Gold Standard Labs |
| Associated acts | The Mars Volta, Look Daggers |
| Website | www |
| Members | |
Free Moral Agents is a collective of musicians brought together by Isaiah "Ikey" Owens (keyboardist from The Mars Volta) as a means to expand the sounds of what started as a solo recording project. In the spring of 2006 the band in its present and permanent line up started playing shows around Long Beach and Los Angeles.
"There was a time, before I put the record out, that I wasn’t playing in Mars Volta anymore, and I had just bought a bunch of recording instruments. I’d always wanted to record my own record but never did, so [Free Moral Agents] really started with just me. I knew J, who was actually my girlfriend at the time’s brother-in-law, who did poetry and sang and stuff, so I got together with him. This is before the vinyl. I was working at this record store and started talking to my friend Jeff Harris, who it turns out, was really good with Pro Tools, so I added him to the group. He’s really a producer and doesn’t really play with us live, but he’s very much responsible for the sound of the record. I knew Mendee [Ichikawa] for several years, and we had worked on and off, but I knew we needed a female element to the group, so that’s basically what Free Moral Agents is right there. As far as the music goes, it started as my project, but these people who I know I can trust, really bring it together."[1]
The group is currently finishing its 2nd full length entitled Control This for Gold Standard Laboratories. In April 2009, Owens released two live tracks for free.[2]
Members
- Isaiah "Ikey" Owens - keyboards, producer, concepts
- Mendee Ichikawa - vocals, echo, words, melodies
- Dennis Owens - bass, falsetto
- Ryan Reiff - drums, beats
- Reid Kinnett - rhodes, effects
- Jesse Carzello - guitar, noise
Discography
- Everybody's Favorite Weapon - Free Moral Agents (2004)
- The Special 12 Singles Series - Free Moral Agents (2005 as 7" vinyl) (October 3, 2006 as download on iTunes [Special Twelve Singles Series] [500 copies])
- Momma's Gun Club Vol. 1 - Free Moral Agents (2006 as download on AlphaPup) (February 27, 2007 as download on iTunes)
- Looking For Lauryn Hill in Lakewood - Free Moral Agents (May 2007 as download on AlphaPup)
- Self Titled 7" EP - Free Moral Agents (Summer 2008 on Broken Tape Publishing [300 copies])
- "North Is Red" (b/w North is Red remix by Tony Allen) 10" vinyl single - Chocolate Industries (2009)
- "Free Moral Agents live at Prospector" - Free Moral Agents (2010)
- Control This (formerly "The Honey in the Carcass of the Lion") - Free Moral Agents (2010)
