Free Moral Agents
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...
) 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 ProTools, 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."
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.
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 SeriesThe Special 12 Singles SeriesThe Special 12 Singles Series is a series of twelve 7 inch singles released by Gold Standard Laboratories in 2005, one for each month. Subscriptions were available for either January through June, July through December, or all 12 singles...
- 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 AllenTony Allen (musician)Tony Oladipo Allen is aNigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter who currently lives and works in Paris. He is currently writing his autobiography "Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat" with author/musician Michael E...
) 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)