Andrew Sega

Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Andrew Gregory Sega (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; born May 20, 1975),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> also known as Necros, is an American musician best known for tracking modules in the 1990s demoscene as well as for composing music for several well-known video games. He was a member of the synthpop duo Iris from 2001 until its disbandment in 2021.<ref name="IrisEnd">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, he founded the dark wave duo Hallowed Hearts.

Sega is the owner of the independent record label Diffusion Records. His main solo project is known as The Alpha Conspiracy.

Biography

Andrew Sega was born on May 20, 1975, in Providence, Rhode IslandTemplate:Citation needed and lived the majority of his young life in Upstate New York. His interest in music began when he was 7 years old, when he started playing and experimenting with an electronic organ he had in his house. He later started taking lessons with an organist from a Polish church in Rome, New York, where he learned almost exclusively baroque music. Later in high school he learned to play other instruments, including bass clarinet and piano.<ref name="NecrosInterview2011">Template:Cite web</ref>

Sega's first records were from artists such as Men at Work, Genesis, and Fleetwood Mac. He discovered trackers in his first year of college (1993) from a friend who showed him Future Crew's Unreal demo. Sega was amazed with how good the music sounded. He eventually discovered FastTracker 1.0, and began writing MOD music for the first time.<ref name="Staticline">Template:Cite web</ref> His first demo group was Psychic Monks. Through the mid-1990s he contributed music to various demo and music groups, and music disks such as Epidemic (1994), featuring other noted tracker musicians like Purple Motion and Skaven.<ref name="moby">Template:Cite web</ref>

Sega later helped form the legendary tracking group Five Musicians, which featured other notable figures, such as Jeroen Tel, Basehead and Hunz. He was also a member of German demogroup Legend Design, and iCE. Sega programmed and/or composed music for several demoscene productions, such as the NAID '95 demo Eden and 1996 demo Babylon.<ref name=moby /> His composition, "Ascent of the Cloud Eagle", won the first place at NAID '95. In a 1998 interview, Sega declared that he had composed around four hundred finished songs.<ref name="Staticline" />

He gradually left the demoscene behind and started making music for video games, beginning with little known titles such as In Pursuit of Greed, Ironseed and Xixit, then moving on to Origin Systems' Crusader series, where he worked as a software engineer and composer. Sega was a founding member of the video game music production company Straylight Productions, contributing tracks to the first-person shooters Unreal and Unreal Tournament.<ref name="NecrosInterview2011"/><ref name="GameMusicOnline">Template:Cite web</ref> Later, he joined Digital Anvil<ref>Leonard, Andrew (April 29, 1999). "Mod love: With their ears, their computers and a little code, 'mod trackers' build their own worlds of sound Template:Webarchive", Salon. Retrieved 2010-01-26.</ref> (now a part of Microsoft Game Studios), and worked as a programmer and musician on Freelancer.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> In 2006 he founded Diffusion Games, a gaming company which focuses on exploring emotional and social aspects of interactivity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2001, Sega founded The Alpha Conspiracy, and released two studio albums, Cipher (2001) and Aura (2004), and a split EP with Low Technicians, Forward Rewinding (2002). He also founded Diffusion Records, an independent record label through which he released The Alpha Conspiracy debut album. Gradually, Diffusion Records became a full-featured label, releasing albums by Iris, CTRL, Low Technicians, and Kilowatts and Vanek.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sega was introduced to Iris in 2001. He started working on several test tracks with Reagan Jones before becoming an official member in 2002.<ref name="Sideline">Template:Cite web</ref>

Sega is also a live member of industrial hip hop group Stromkern. As of 2011, he was working on a dark electropop side-project with Julia Beyer (Chandeen, Technoir).<ref name="NecrosInterview2011" /> In 2012 Sega and Dan Clark from Stromkern teamed up under the name The Mighty Chouffe and released an EP, The West Town. In 2013 he released Obelus, the debut album from his new side-project XYZZY. In 2020, Sega and Alex Virlios (Blue Images, CTRL, Exit) formed Hallowed Hearts and released their debut album Into the Fire.<ref name="Aquarian">Template:Cite web</ref>

Sega's influences include Underworld, μ-Ziq, Aphex Twin, Radiohead, Orbital, Fluke, The Prodigy, Hybrid, Mouse on Mars, Depeche Mode, Rush, Genesis, XTC, Public Enemy, Imogen Heap, and The Chemical Brothers, among others.<ref name="ConnexionInterview">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has described alternative rock, folk, techno, ambient, jazz, and synthpop as his favorite genres, but has noted that he tries to avoid the categorization of music.<ref name="Staticline" />

Sega studied computer science and philosophy at Stony Brook University.<ref name="linkedin">Template:Cite web</ref> Throughout the years, he has worked primarily as a full-time software engineer for video games.

Video game credits

Template:Demoscene Andrew Sega has composed music for the following video games:

• 1994 – Ironseed
• 1995 – Xixit
• 1995 – In Pursuit of Greed
• 1995 – Crusader: No Remorse
• 1996 – Crusader: No Regret
• 1997 – Wing Commander: Prophecy
• 1998 – Unreal
• 1999 – Jazz Jackrabbit 3 (unreleased)
• 1999 – Unreal Tournament
• 2001 – Conquest: Frontier Wars
• 2003 – Freelancer
• 2007 – Enigma
• 2007 – Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am

Discography

Necros

• 1994 – Digital Psychosis (Psychic Monks, DOS music disk)
• 1995 – Progression (Five Musicians, DOS music disk with S3M files)
• 1997 – System (IT music files)

The Alpha Conspiracy

• 2001 – Cipher
• 2001 – Forward Rewinding (a split EP with Low Technicians)
• 2004 – Aura

Iris

• 2003 – Awakening
• 2003 – Reconnect
• 2005 – Wrath
• 2005 – Disconnect 2.0
• 2008 – Hydra
• 2010 – Blacklight
• 2014 – Radiant
• 2019 – Six

The Mighty Chouffe

• 2012 – The West Town (EP)

XYZZY

• 2013 – Obelus
• 2023 – Lumia

Hallowed Hearts

• 2020 – Into the Fire
• 2021 – Ruins (EP)

External links

• The Alpha Conspiracy official website Template:Webarchive
• Template:Moby developer
• Artist profile at OverClocked ReMix
• Andrew Sega Webshrine with Music examples
• Andrew Sega at Discogs
• Diffusion Records official website
• Iris official website
• Template:Musicbrainz artist
• XYZZY at Bandcamp
• Hallowed Hearts at Bandcamp