Andrew Sega
Andrew Sega | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 20, 1975 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, software engineer |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Known for | Module tracking in the demoscene, composing soundtracks for video games, member of Iris and Hallowed Hearts |
| Notable work | Soundtracks for Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Freelancer; The Alpha Conspiracy; Iris; Hallowed Hearts |
Andrew Gregory Sega ( ; born May 20, 1975), also known by the pseudonym Necros, is an American artist acclaimed for his work with module tracking in the 1990s demoscene and for composing soundtracks for prominent video games. He was part of the synthpop duo Iris from 2001 until the group's dissolution in 2021. In 2020, he co-established the dark wave duo Hallowed Hearts.
Sega operates the independent label Diffusion Records. His main solo endeavor is known as The Alpha Conspiracy.
Biography
Originally from Providence, Rhode Island, Sega spent most of his upbringing in Upstate New York. His musical education started at age seven with an electronic organ, followed by studies in baroque music and learning bass clarinet and piano during his high school years.
His early musical inspirations included bands such as Men at Work, Genesis, and Fleetwood Mac. While attending college in 1993, he encountered trackers through Future Crew's Unreal demo and began creating MOD music using FastTracker 1.0. Sega became involved with demo groups like Psychic Monks and contributed to influential music collections such as Epidemic (1994), collaborating with tracker musicians including Jonne Valtonen and Peter Hajba. He was a co-founder of the notable tracking collective Five Musicians alongside artists like Jeroen Tel and Dan Gardopée. Additionally, Sega collaborated with German demogroups Legend Design and iCE, producing award-winning compositions such as "Ascent of the Cloud Eagle" at NAID '95.
Moving beyond the demoscene, Sega composed music for video games including In Pursuit of Greed, Ironseed, and Origin Systems' Crusader series, where he contributed both as a software engineer and composer. As one of the founding members of Straylight Productions, he helped create soundtracks for Unreal and Unreal Tournament. Later, Sega joined Digital Anvil, a division of Microsoft Game Studios, where he worked on programming and composing for Freelancer. In 2006, he established Diffusion Games with a focus on emotional and social engagement within interactive experiences.
In 2001, Sega introduced The Alpha Conspiracy, releasing albums such as Cipher (2001) and Aura (2004), along with a split EP collaboration with Low Technicians. Through his label Diffusion Records, which he also founded, he expanded operations into a fully developed label issuing releases by Iris, CTRL, Low Technicians, Kilowatts, and Vanek.
Sega officially joined Iris in 2002 following earlier collaborations with Reagan Jones. He has also performed live with the industrial hip hop group Stromkern. Around 2011, he initiated a dark electropop side project with Julia Beyer (Chandeen, Technoir). In 2012, he teamed up with Dan Clark of Stromkern under the name The Mighty Chouffe, releasing an EP. His side project XYZZY debuted with the album Obelus in 2013. In 2020, Sega partnered with Alex Virlios to form Hallowed Hearts, issuing their first album Into the Fire.
Drawing inspiration from artists like Underworld, Aphex Twin, Radiohead, Depeche Mode, and The Chemical Brothers, Sega embraces genres such as alternative rock, folk, techno, ambient, jazz, and synthpop while deliberately avoiding strict genre labels.
He pursued studies in computer science and philosophy at Stony Brook University and has predominantly worked full-time as a software engineer within the video game industry.
Video game credits
Andrew Sega has created music for a range of prominent video games, such as:
- 1994 – Ironseed
- 1995 – In Pursuit of Greed
- 1995 – Crusader: No Remorse
- 1996 – Crusader: No Regret
- 1997 – Wing Commander: Prophecy
- 1998 – Unreal
- 1999 – Unreal Tournament
- 2001 – Conquest: Frontier Wars
- 2003 – Freelancer
- 2007 – Enigma
Necros
- 1994 – Digital Psychosis (Psychic Monks, DOS music disk)
- 1995 – Progression (Five Musicians, DOS music disk featuring S3M files)
- 1997 – System (Impulse Tracker format)
The Alpha Conspiracy
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
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1975 births
- Living people
- American electronic musicians
- Demosceners
- American video game composers
- Intelligent dance musicians
- American video game designers
- American keyboardists
- American multi-instrumentalists
- Electronica musicians
- Chiptune and tracker musicians
- Origin Systems people
- Stony Brook University alumni
- Guitarists from Rhode Island
- Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island
- Record producers from Rhode Island
- American male guitarists
- 21st-century American singers
- 21st-century American guitarists
- 21st-century American male singers