"The X-Files" is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

written and produced by American film and television composer

Mark Snow Mark Snow (born Martin Fulterman; August 26, 1946) is an American composer for film and television. Among his most famous compositions is the theme music for science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. The theme reached no. 2 on the UK Si ...

. On its parent album, '' The Truth and the Light: Music from the X-Files'', the track is titled "Materia Primoris". It is a remixed version of the original theme Snow composed for the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

television series ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

'' in 1993. The composition was released as a single in 1996 and achieved chart success, particularly in France, where it reached number one on the SNEP Singles Chart. The composition has since been covered by many artists, including DJ Dado and Triple X; DJ Dado's version was a major hit in Europe while Triple X's version reached number two in Australia.

Song information

"The X-Files" typically used more instrumental music than most hour-long dramas. According to the "Behind the Truth" segment on the

Season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguati ...

DVD, Mark Snow created the

echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

effect on his famous ''X-Files''

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

by accident. Snow said that he had gone through several revisions, but Chris Carter felt that something was not quite right. Carter walked out of the room and Snow put his hand and forearm on his

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

in frustration. Snow said, "this sound was in the keyboard. And that was it." The whistle melody comes from an old sample from the Proteus line of synth products called "Whistling Joe" and the whistling of Snow's wife, Glynn.

Chart performance

The single debuted at number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on March 30, 1996, and stayed there for three weeks. In France, the single entered the chart at number 42 on April 6, 1996, and climbed to number two four weeks later. It remained for five weeks at this position, behind

Robert Miles Roberto Concina (3 November 1969 – 9 May 2017), known professionally as Robert Miles, was an Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ. His 1995 composition "Children" sold more than 5 million copies and topped the charts worldwide. ...

's hit " Children", then topped the chart for a sole week, becoming the second instrumental number-one hit on the French charts. It totaled 12 weeks in the top ten and 30 weeks in the top 50. The single re-charted in October 1998, but remained in the lower positions.

Track listings

UK CD and 12-inch single; European CD single # "The X-Files" (original version) – 3:25 # "The X-Files" (Terrestrial mix) – 4:20 # "The X-Files" (

P.M. Dawn P.M. Dawn was an American hip hop and R&B act that formed in 1988 by the brothers Attrell Cordes (known by his stage name Prince Be, sometimes credited as Prince Be the Nocturnal) and Jarrett Cordes (known as DJ Minutemix) in Jersey City, New J ...

remix) – 3:59 UK cassette single # "The X-Files" (original version) – 3:25 # "The X-Files" (Terrestrial mix) – 4:20 German maxi-CD single # "The X-Files" (main theme) – 3:25 # "The X-Files" (DJ Delicious remix) – 5:19 # "The X-Files" (Ravers Nature remix) – 6:02 German 12-inch single :A1. "The X-Files" (DJ Delicious remix) – 5:19 :B1. "The X-Files" (Ravers Nature remix) – 6:02 :B2. "The X-Files" (main theme) – 3:25 French CD and 12-inch single (remixes) # "The X-Files" (Secret Sessions extended mix) – 6:22 # "The X-Files" (Secret Sessions radio edit) – 4:19 # "The X-Files" (Map Mystery mix) – 5:27 # "The X-Files" (Terrestrial mix) – 4:20 Australian CD single # "The X-Files" (main title) # "The X-Files" (Flexifinger Terrestrial mix) # "The X-Files" (P.M. Dawn remix) Japanese mini-CD single # "The X-Files" # "The X-Files" (P.M. Dawn remix)

Credits

* Composed by Mark Snow * Terrestrial mix: remixed and produced Flexifinger * P.M. Dawn remix: guitar by Cameron Greider, remixed by P.M. Dawn, synthesizers by Henry Hay and Maurice Luke, recorded and mixed by Michael Fossenkemper * Ravers nature remix: produced and remixed by John Bogota, Pedro Ferrari and Roy Ströbel * Secret Session remixes: produced by Special Agents for MAP Productions, engineered and mixed by RoBo * Map Mystery mix: produced and mixed by Moorcroft and Prins for MAP Productions, engineered and programmed by TK for MAP Productions

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

DJ Dado version

At the same time Snow's original version was experiencing chart success, Italian producer DJ Dado covered the song. His version became a top-10 hit in several countries, reaching number one in Denmark, though it failed to reach the top 10 in France and Germany. In the US, this version was featured on the '' Pure Moods'' compilation album 1997 re-release.

Track listings

CD single # "X-Files" (DJ Dado paranormal activity mix) – 6:38 # "X-Files" (Claudio Diva sub-dream activity mix) – 8:40 CD maxi # "X-Files" (radio edit) – 3:57 # "X-Files" (DJ Dado paranormal activity mix) – 6:42 # "X-Files" (Claudio Diva sub-dream paranormal activity mix) – 8:44 CD maxi # "X-Files" (radio edit) – 3:57 # "X-Files" (DJ Dado paranormal activity mix) – 6:41 # "X-Files" (Tom Wilson Dyme mix) – 6:38 # "X-Files" (dV8 deviant mix) – 6:29 # "X-Files" (freak bros area 51 mix) – 6:53 # "X-Files" (Claudio Diva sub-dream paranormal activity mix) – 8:44 12-inch maxi # "X-Files" (DJ Dado paranormal activity mix) – 6:42 # "X-Files" (Claudio Diva sub-dream paranormal activity mix) – 8:44 CD maxi – remixes # "X-Files" (2 Cowboys remix) – 5:07 # "X-Files" (Reygroove remix) – 5:02 # "X-Files" (Valez & L. Antolini remix) – 6:25 # "X-Files" (Alex Voghi remix) – 6:25 # "X-Files" (Miki B. remix – flute experience part I) – 8:38 # "X-Files" (Moroldo & Mensi mix) – 4:35 # "X-Files" (Hornbostel & M. Marvin remix) – 5:18 # "X-Files" (Fabio Locati remix) – 6:18

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Triple X version

The song was also covered by Triple X. This cover was less successful than the original version or DJ Dado's cover, but it did reach number two in Australia and was certified Gold by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

The X-Club version

A version by the X-Club was released in Australasia in 1996.

Charts

''The X-Files'' movie single and Mike Oldfield version

"The X-Files Theme" was released as a Japan only EP in 1998 from the soundtrack album '' The X-Files: The Album'' for ''The X-Files'' movie. The maxi-CD includes four remixes of Mark Snow's theme to the television series, ''The X-Files''. Notably "Tubular X" is part Snow's theme and consists of parts of

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

's ''

Tubular Bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

''. Another track from Oldfield also appears, "The Source of Secrets", the opening piece from his '' Tubular Bells III'' album, which also based upon the same theme from the original ''Tubular Bells''.

Track listing

# "Tubular X" –

– 3:53 # "The X-Files Theme" –

The Dust Brothers The Dust Brothers are a pair of songwriters and producers consisting of E.Z. Mike ( Michael Simpson) and King Gizmo ( John King). They are famous for the sample-based music they produced in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work o ...

– 3:27 # "The X-Files Theme" –

Satoshi Tomiie is a Japanese DJ, record producer and musician. Biography A lifelong student of jazz and classical piano, Satoshi had an influential impact from his very first record. His debut single ‘Tears’, which he co-produced in 1989 with Chicago's � ...

radio edit – 4:17 # "The X-Files Theme" – R.H. Factor Pop radio edit – 3:37 # "The Source of Secrets" – Mike Oldfield – 5:33

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:X-Files (song), The 1990s instrumentals 1993 compositions 1993 songs 1996 singles 1998 singles DJ Dado songs Mark Snow songs Tubular X Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Scotland SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Mike Oldfield Television drama theme songs The X-Files music