View source for Andrew Sega

{{short description|American musician}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Andrew Sega
| image             = Andrew1.jpg
| caption           = Andrew Sega with Iris, Seattle 2008
| birth_name        = Andrew Gregory Sega
| alias             = Necros, Sorcen, The Alpha Conspiracy, XYZZY
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1975|5|20|mf=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Providence, Rhode Island]]
| instrument        = Keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, [[bass clarinet]], vocals
| genre             = [[Electronica]], [[electropop]], [[ambient music|ambient]], [[electronic rock]], [[intelligent dance music|IDM]], [[indietronica]], [[synthpop]], [[dark wave]]
| occupation        = Composer, musician, software engineer, [[game designer]]
| years_active      = 1993–present
| label             = Diffusion Records
| current_member_of = {{hlist|Hallowed Hearts}}
| past_member_of    = {{hlist|[[Iris (American band)|Iris]]|[[Straylight Productions]]|Stromkern|Hellven|Kosmic Free Music Foundation|Psychic Monks|Five Musicians|Low Technicians|CTRL|The Mighty Chouffe}}
| website           = {{URL|http://alphaconspiracy.com}}
}}
'''Andrew Gregory Sega''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|i:|g|ə}} {{respell|SEE|gə}}; born May 20, 1975),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ocremix.org/artist/365/andrew-sega |title=Artist: Andrew Sega – Composer |publisher=[[OverClocked ReMix]] |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref> also known as '''Necros''', is an American musician best known for [[Music tracker|tracking]] [[module file|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 (American band)|Iris]] from 2001 until its disbandment in 2021.<ref name="IrisEnd">{{Cite web |last=Brandon |first=Chris |date=2021-09-06 |title=American synthpop band Iris is over |url=https://www.synthpopfanatic.com/news/american-synthpop-band-iris-is-over/ |access-date=2021-09-07 |website=Synthpop Fanatic}}</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 Island]]{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} 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">{{cite web | url=http://necros.gibdon.com/news/interview | title=Andrew "Necros" Sega Interview | publisher=necros.gibdon.com | date=July 19, 2011 | access-date=July 20, 2011 | author=Augustini, Petrit | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717023422/http://necros.gibdon.com/news/interview | archive-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>

Sega's first records were from artists such as [[Men at Work]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], and [[Fleetwood Mac]]. He discovered [[Tracker (music software)|trackers]] in his first year of college (1993) from a friend who showed him [[Future Crew]]'s ''[[Unreal (demo)|Unreal]]'' demo. Sega was amazed with how good the music sounded. He eventually discovered [[FastTracker|FastTracker 1.0]], and began writing [[Module file|MOD]] music for the first time.<ref name="Staticline">{{cite web | url=http://web.textfiles.com/ezines/STATICLINE/sl-011.txt | title=Interview With Andrew Sega | publisher=Static Line | date=November 1998 | access-date=July 20, 2011 | author=Warner, Glen| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110720083335/http://web.textfiles.com/ezines/STATICLINE/sl-011.txt| archive-date= July 20, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> His first [[demo group]] was Psychic Monks. Through the mid-1990s he contributed music to various demo and music groups, and [[music disk]]s such as ''Epidemic'' (1994), featuring other noted tracker musicians like [[Jonne Valtonen|Purple Motion]] and [[Peter Hajba|Skaven]].<ref name="moby">{{cite web | url=http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,840/ | title=Andrew G. Sega | publisher=[[MobyGames]] | date=November 28, 1999 | access-date=June 30, 2014 | author=Gabel, Tomer}}</ref>

Sega later helped form the legendary tracking group Five Musicians, which featured other notable figures, such as [[Jeroen Tel]], [[Dan Gardopée|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: No Remorse|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 (1998 video game)|Unreal]]'' and ''[[Unreal Tournament]]''.<ref name="NecrosInterview2011"/><ref name="GameMusicOnline">{{cite web | url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/interviews/alexanderbrandon.shtml | title=Interview with Alexander Brandon | publisher=Game Music Online | date=November 2007 | access-date=9 September 2014 | author=Bezeau, François}}</ref> Later, he joined [[Digital Anvil]]<ref>Leonard, Andrew (April 29, 1999). "[http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/04/29/mod_trackers/index.html Mod love: With their ears, their computers and a little code, 'mod trackers' build their own worlds of sound] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091121031315/http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/04/29/mod_trackers/index.html |date=November 21, 2009 }}", ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]''. Retrieved 2010-01-26.</ref> (now a part of [[Microsoft Game Studios]]), and worked as a programmer and musician on ''[[Freelancer (video game)|Freelancer]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3tub4nWayE#t=5m48s  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/X3tub4nWayE |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Freelancer – behind the scenes *HQ* |date=October 31, 2008 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=2014-06-29}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2006 he founded Diffusion Games, a gaming company which focuses on exploring emotional and social aspects of [[interactivity]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xfire.com/cms/xf_gaming_careers_wednesday/ |title=Titan Gaming Incorporated |publisher=[[Xfire]].com |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>

In 2001, Sega founded The Alpha Conspiracy, and released two studio albums, ''[[Cipher (The Alpha Conspiracy album)|Cipher]]'' (2001) and ''[[Aura (The Alpha Conspiracy album)|Aura]]'' (2004), and a [[Split album|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>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/label/Diffusion+Records |title=Diffusion Records – CDs and Vinyl at Discogs |publisher=[[Discogs]] |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>

Sega was introduced to [[Iris (American band)|Iris]] in 2001. He started working on several test tracks with [[Reagan Jones]] before becoming an official member in 2002.<ref name="Sideline">{{cite web | url=http://www.side-line.com/interviews_comments.php?id=410_0_16_0_C | title=Iris – The future of synthpop is assured | publisher=[[Side-Line]] | date=January 16, 2004 | access-date=May 20, 2014}}</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">{{Cite web |last=Crespo |first=Everynight Charley |date=2021-07-14 |title=Hallowed Hearts at the Red Party at Mercury Lounge / July 10, 2021 |url=https://www.theaquarian.com/2021/07/14/hallowed-hearts-at-the-red-party-at-mercury-lounge-july-10-2021/ |access-date=2021-09-07 |website=[[The Aquarian Weekly]]}}</ref>

Sega's influences include [[Underworld (band)|Underworld]], [[μ-Ziq]], [[Aphex Twin]], [[Radiohead]], [[Orbital (band)|Orbital]], [[Fluke (band)|Fluke]], [[The Prodigy]], [[Hybrid (Welsh band)|Hybrid]], [[Mouse on Mars]], [[Depeche Mode]], [[Rush (band)|Rush]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], [[XTC]], [[Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy]], [[Imogen Heap]], and [[The Chemical Brothers]], among others.<ref name="ConnexionInterview">{{cite web | url=http://www.connexionbizarre.net/interviews/iris-an-interview-with-andrew-sega-and-reaganjones/ | title=Iris: an interview with Andrew Sega and Reagan Jones | publisher=Connexion Bizarre | date=January 12, 2009 | access-date=July 20, 2011 | author=Fanale, Matt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xfire.com/cms/xf_music_week_iris_transcript/ |title=Titan Gaming Incorporated |publisher=Xfire.com |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myspace.com/thealphaconspiracy |title=the alpha conspiracy &#124; Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos |publisher=Myspace |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref> He has described [[alternative rock]], [[Folk music|folk]], [[techno]], [[Ambient music|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">{{cite web | url=http://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-sega/0/2/b66 | title=Andrew Sega's profile at LinkedIn | publisher=[[LinkedIn]] | access-date=May 11, 2014}}</ref> Throughout the years, he has worked primarily as a full-time software engineer for video games.

==Video game credits==
{{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 (1998 video game)|Unreal]]''
* 1999 – ''[[Jazz Jackrabbit 3]]'' (unreleased)
* 1999 – ''[[Unreal Tournament]]''
* 2001 – ''[[Conquest: Frontier Wars]]''
* 2003 – ''[[Freelancer (video game)|Freelancer]]''
* 2007 – ''[[Enigma (2007 video game)|Enigma]]''
* 2007 – ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am]]''

==Discography==

===Necros===
* 1994 – ''Digital Psychosis'' (Psychic Monks, [[MS-DOS|DOS]] [[music disk]])
* 1995 – ''Progression'' (Five Musicians, DOS music disk with [[Scream Tracker|S3M]] files)
* 1997 – ''System'' ([[Impulse Tracker|IT]] music files)

===The Alpha Conspiracy===
* 2001 – ''[[Cipher (The Alpha Conspiracy album)|Cipher]]''
* 2001 – ''Forward Rewinding'' (a split EP with Low Technicians)
* 2004 – ''[[Aura (The Alpha Conspiracy album)|Aura]]''

===Iris===
* 2003 – ''[[Awakening (Iris album)|Awakening]]''
* 2003 – ''Reconnect''
* 2005 – ''[[Wrath (Iris album)|Wrath]]''
* 2005 – ''Disconnect 2.0''
* 2008 – ''Hydra''
* 2010 – ''[[Blacklight (Iris album)|Blacklight]]''
* 2014 – ''[[Radiant (Iris album)|Radiant]]''
* 2019 – ''[[Six (Iris album)|Six]]''

===The Mighty Chouffe===
* 2012 – ''The West Town'' (EP)

===XYZZY===
* 2013 – ''Obelus''
* 2023 – ''Lumia''

===Hallowed Hearts===
* 2020 – ''Into the Fire''
* 2021 – ''Ruins'' (EP)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://alphaconspiracy.com/ The Alpha Conspiracy official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207165919/http://alphaconspiracy.com/ |date=February 7, 2011 }}
*{{moby developer |id=840|name=Andrew Sega}}
*[http://www.ocremix.org/artist/365/andrew-sega Artist profile] at [[OverClocked ReMix]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040729120521/http://necros.gibdon.com/ Andrew Sega Webshrine with Music examples]
*[http://www.discogs.com/artist/Andrew+Sega Andrew Sega] at [[Discogs]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050825103412/http://www.diffusionrecords.com/ Diffusion Records official website]
*[http://www.irismusic.com/ Iris official website]
*{{musicbrainz artist|id=7e2258c8-5889-4a96-bef8-314d6290e4f9|name=The Alpha Conspiracy}}
*[http://xyzzy.bandcamp.com/ XYZZY] at [[Bandcamp]]
*[https://hallowedhearts.bandcamp.com Hallowed Hearts] at [[Bandcamp.com|Bandcamp]]

{{Iris (American band)}}
{{Unreal}}
{{Origin Systems}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sega, Andrew}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Demosceners]]
[[Category:American video game composers]]
[[Category:American intelligent dance musicians]]
[[Category:American video game designers]]
[[Category:American keyboardists]]
[[Category:American multi-instrumentalists]]
[[Category:Electronica musicians]]
[[Category:Chiptune and tracker musicians]]
[[Category:Origin Systems people]]
[[Category:Stony Brook University alumni]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Record producers from Rhode Island]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male singers]]