Bio

Free Keys is a Progressive Rock band from Tehran, formed in 2007. Free Keys consists of Pooya on Vocals and Rhythm Guitar, Arash on Drums, AK on Bass and Amon Rameses on Vocals and guitar. Amon will also assume the role of sound manipulator for the band, which used to be done by critically acclaimed producer/solo artist Hamed Seyed Javadi (ex-Puzzle). In Summer ‘07, The Keys teamed up with their best friends and sister band, Indie Rock Quartet The Yellow Dogs for a couple of strictly forbidden underground gigs in Tehran. They sound-proofed then transformed a parking lot in west Tehran to a venue of roughly 150, complete with a stage and pyrotechnics. Two gigs were thrown in that venue before the bands had to abandon it so as to avoid arrest. The two shows however, both sold out and were extremely successful. Free Keys and Yellow Dogs are now among the few bands who had performed illegal shows right under the government’s nose and got away with it to tell the tale. Videos of the gig were put on YouTube by the bands, a lot of footage taken by people's phone-cams were passed around from phone to phone all around Tehran, and the Yellow Dogs landed a CNN interview (that also briefly features the Free Keys) for it later that year. The Band released its first EP in 2008. It was made available for free download on the band’s myspace page. the band set out to tour the UK in support of the EP, but Iranian Military Service Laws prevented Arash and Pooya to join Arya in London. The incident drove the band to a Hiatus. Shortly afterwards, Pooya and Arash, along with the Yellow Dogs and Hamed all played roles in 'No One Knows About Persian Cats', the latest Cannes Award-winning movie by the well-known Persian Director, Bahman Ghobadi. The semi-documentary, Co-written by Roxanna Saberi, who was arrested by Iranian Authorities and then released shortly afterwards, delves deep into the underground music scene of Tehran to bring the world's attention to some of the best Iranian musicians and the impossibilities they have to face in order to play music in Iran. The song 'Dreaming' from the EP was featured in the film, accompanying a video, which added to the Keys' international and domestic Fanbase and lead them to reconsider getting back together. The hiatus ended when AK (ex-Vandida) and Amon(ex-Sediment) joined the band in early 2010