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Andrew Sega

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Andrew Gregory Sega (/ˈsiːɡə/ SEE-gə; born May 20, 1975),[1] 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.[2] In 2020, he founded the dark wave duo Hallowed Hearts.

Andrew Sega
Andrew Sega with Iris, Seattle 2008
Andrew Sega with Iris, Seattle 2008
Background information
Birth nameAndrew Gregory Sega
Also known asNecros, Sorcen, The Alpha Conspiracy, XYZZY
Born (1975-05-20) May 20, 1975 (age 49)
Providence, Rhode Island
GenresElectronica, electropop, ambient, electronic rock, IDM, indietronica, synthpop, dark wave
Occupation(s)Composer, musician, software engineer, game designer
Instrument(s)Keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, bass clarinet, vocals
Years active1993–present
LabelsDiffusion Records
Member of
  • Hallowed Hearts
Formerly of
  • Iris
  • Straylight Productions
  • Stromkern
  • Hellven
  • Kosmic Free Music Foundation
  • Psychic Monks
  • Five Musicians
  • Low Technicians
  • CTRL
  • The Mighty Chouffe
Websitealphaconspiracy.com

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

Biography

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Andrew Sega was born on May 20, 1975, in Providence, Rhode Island[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.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[5] 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.[4]

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.[3][6] Later, he joined Digital Anvil[7] (now a part of Microsoft Game Studios), and worked as a programmer and musician on Freelancer.[8] In 2006 he founded Diffusion Games, a gaming company which focuses on exploring emotional and social aspects of interactivity.[9]

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.[10]

Sega was introduced to Iris in 2001. He started working on several test tracks with Reagan Jones before becoming an official member in 2002.[11]

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).[3] 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.[12]

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.[13][14][15] 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.[4]

Sega studied computer science and philosophy at Stony Brook University.[16] Throughout the years, he has worked primarily as a full-time software engineer for video games.

Video game credits

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Andrew Sega has composed music for the following video games:

Discography

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Necros

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  • 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

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

Iris

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The Mighty Chouffe

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  • 2012 – The West Town (EP)

XYZZY

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  • 2013 – Obelus
  • 2023 – Lumia

Hallowed Hearts

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

References

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  1. ^ "Artist: Andrew Sega – Composer". OverClocked ReMix. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  2. ^ Brandon, Chris (September 6, 2021). "American synthpop band Iris is over". Synthpop Fanatic. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Augustini, Petrit (July 19, 2011). "Andrew "Necros" Sega Interview". necros.gibdon.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Warner, Glen (November 1998). "Interview With Andrew Sega". Static Line. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Gabel, Tomer (November 28, 1999). "Andrew G. Sega". MobyGames. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  6. ^ Bezeau, François (November 2007). "Interview with Alexander Brandon". Game Music Online. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  7. ^ Leonard, Andrew (April 29, 1999). "Mod love: With their ears, their computers and a little code, 'mod trackers' build their own worlds of sound Archived November 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Salon. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  8. ^ "Freelancer – behind the scenes *HQ*". YouTube. October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  9. ^ "Titan Gaming Incorporated". Xfire.com. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  10. ^ "Diffusion Records – CDs and Vinyl at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  11. ^ "Iris – The future of synthpop is assured". Side-Line. January 16, 2004. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  12. ^ Crespo, Everynight Charley (July 14, 2021). "Hallowed Hearts at the Red Party at Mercury Lounge / July 10, 2021". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Fanale, Matt (January 12, 2009). "Iris: an interview with Andrew Sega and Reagan Jones". Connexion Bizarre. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  14. ^ "Titan Gaming Incorporated". Xfire.com. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  15. ^ "the alpha conspiracy | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos". Myspace. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  16. ^ "Andrew Sega's profile at LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
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