AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 1/14
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of the AeschTunes Top 40 chart, we’re highlighting one artist who made an impact on the chart each month between now and the anniversary in July 2026. This month, we're featuring Iris.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 2/14
Iris was a synthpop act that originally started out under the name Forgiving Iris with group members Reagan Jones and Matt Morris. They shortened their name to Iris in 1998 and released their debut album, Disconnect, on the A Different Drum record label in 2000.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 3/14
Matthew Morris then left Iris and was replaced by Andrew Sega. The group first came to our attention through the song "Annie, Would I Lie to You?," which came from the Disconnect album.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 4/14
Iris released their second album, Awakening, through Andrew Sega's new label, Diffusion Records, in 2003. This was their first release since the launch of the AeschTunes Top 40. We liked what we heard and included some of the songs from the release on our chart.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 5/14
"Unknown" peaked at number 11 in March 2003, "Sorrow Expert" peaked at number nine in July 2003, and "Whatever" peaked at number nine in October 2003.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 6/15
Also in 2003, Iris released a remix album titled Reconnect, which featured remixes of songs from Disconnect. We charted the Distant World Mix of "The Way I Live My Life" from this release, and it peaked at number six in November 2003.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 7/14
Iris released its third album, Wrath, in 2005, and we also charted songs from this release on the AeschTunes Top 40. "No One Left to Lose" became the group's first number one hit on the chart in June 2006.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 8/14
"Guide on Raging Stars" peaked at number two in October 2006, while "Hell's Coming With Me" peaked at number two in April 2007. "Appetite" also appeared on the chart, peaking at number seven in January 2006.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 9/14
Where are they now?
Iris released three more albums after we ended the AeschTunes Top 40: Blacklight in 2010 through Infacted Recordings, as well as Radiant in 2014 and Six in 2019 through Dependent Records.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 10/14
In addition, a remix album titled Hydra was released in 2008 that had remixes of songs from Wrath and Awakening, as well as three new songs. Iris disbanded in September 2021.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 11/14
While I haven't found any information on what Reagan Jones is up to now, I discovered that Andrew Sega founded the dark wave duo Hallowed Hearts in 2020.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 12/14
Hallowed Hearts' most recent release is the Masquerade album in 2024, which was released on Diffusion Records.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 13/14
Thank you, Reagan and Andrew, for your music and its contributions to the AeschTunes Top 40.
AeschTunes Artist Spotlight - 14/14
Here's the video for "No One Left to Lose," a number one hit for Iris on the AeschTunes Top 40.
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