Free Moral Agents

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Free Moral Agents
Free-moral-agents-at-low-en-theory.jpg
Free Moral Agents performing at Low End Theory
Background information
Origin Long Beach, California
Genres Jazz, hip hop, psychedelic, dub
Years active2003–2014
Labels Gold Standard Labs
Past members

Free Moral Agents were a collective of musicians brought together by Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, then-keyboardist of 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 started playing shows around Long Beach and Los Angeles. [1] [2] Free Moral Agents combine elements of jazz, trip-hop, psychedelia, and improvisational rock. [3] [4]

Contents

History

Ikey Owens formed Free Moral Agents after he was fired from The Mars Volta in 2002. With his newfound free time, he started a home recording project which eventually became said band. [5] Owens states,

"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. [6]

In April 2009, Owens released two live tracks for free. [7] In 2010, the group released its 2nd full-length album entitled Control This for Gold Standard Laboratories.


Members

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Live Albums

Singles

Other Recordings

References

  1. ↑ "Free Moral Agents, 2Mex, Sons of the San Joaquin, Mayer Hawthorne, Alo..." City Weekly. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Meet Free Moral Agents: A Mini Documentary on YouTube – OC Weekly". November 23, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  3. ↑ "The Mars Volta's Ikey Owens stretches his wings in Free Moral Agents". Denver Westword. November 12, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  4. ↑ "A Truly Memorable Swan Song: Free Moral Agents' Chaine Infinie is a Showcase to Ikey Owens' Talents". Ovrld. October 23, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Orange Pop: Experimenting with Free Moral Agents". Orange County Register. February 5, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  6. ↑ Interview: Free Moral Agents | Modernfix.com Archived September 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "The Mars Volta's Ikey Owens releases free live tracks | stereokill.net". Archived from the original on May 26, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2009.
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