When you think about The X-Files, a few things instantly come to mind: David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson’s paranormal-investigating FBI agents, shining their flashlights into the unknown. The eerie glow of the Cigarette Smoking Man’s cancer stick, the famous “I Want to Believe” UFO poster, and the unforgettable tagline, “The Truth Is Out There”. Above all, the haunting theme music stands out.
Composed by the prolific Mark Snow, the theme was first played in the second episode and went on to appear in all subsequent episodes of the original series, the two feature films, and the 2016-18 revival.
Mark Snow, who passed away on July 4 at his Connecticut home at age 78, left behind an impressive legacy of classic TV music. His career began with the 1976 telefilm The Boy in the Plastic Bubble and included compositions for iconic shows like Starsky & Hutch, Dynasty, The Love Boat, Cagney & Lacey, Hart to Hart, T.J. Hooker, Millennium, Smallville, The Ghost Whisperer, Blue Bloods, and The Lone Gunmen—the X-Files spinoff. His work earned him 15 Emmy nominations, 34 ASCAP Awards, and the 2014 Career Achievement Award from the Television Academy’s Music Peer Group.
To honor his legacy, here is a brief oral history of his most memorable composition, “The X-Files Theme,” officially titled “Materia Primoris”—Latin for “first matter,” referring to the primordial substance from which all things are created.
Chris Carter (creator of The X-Files) recalls sending Mark Snow to the drawing board with many musical directions during the summer of production. Snow experimented with numerous sounds, aiming for a fast, loud sci-fi feel. After several iterations and rejections, Snow proposed starting fresh, which led him to a distinctive delay echo effect on the keyboard, combined with unique whistle sounds inspired by Morrissey’s whistling in the Smiths’ song “How Soon Is Now?”
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Snow’s experimentation with synthesizers and piano created the haunting, simple, yet honest melody that became the signature of the series. Once finished, Chris Carter approved the track, which debuted in the second episode, “Deep Throat,” rather than the pilot.
The theme music quickly became an integral part of the show’s identity, topping charts in France and reaching number 2 in Britain when released as a single. Even David Duchovny humorously claimed that Snow had secretly written lyrics for the instrumental theme.
