Andrew Sega

{{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, electronic rock, 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|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),{{cite web|url=http://ocremix.org/artist/365/andrew-sega |title=Artist: Andrew Sega – Composer |publisher=OverClocked ReMix |access-date=2014-06-29}} 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.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

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.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

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. 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.

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.{{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}} Later, he joined Digital AnvilLeonard, 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. Retrieved 2010-01-26. (now a part of Microsoft Game Studios), and worked as a programmer and musician on Freelancer.{{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}} In 2006 he founded Diffusion Games, a gaming company which focuses on exploring emotional and social aspects of interactivity.{{cite web|url=http://www.xfire.com/cms/xf_gaming_careers_wednesday/ |title=Titan Gaming Incorporated |publisher=Xfire.com |access-date=2014-06-29}}

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.{{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}}

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

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). 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.{{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}}

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.{{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}}{{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}}{{cite web|url=http://www.myspace.com/thealphaconspiracy |title=the alpha conspiracy | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos |publisher=Myspace |access-date=2014-06-29}} 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.

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

Video game credits

Andrew Sega has composed music for the following video games:

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

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)

References

External links

[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