"The X-Files" is a 1996 instrumental

Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 recorded by American film and television composer Mark Snow

Mark Snow

Mark Snow is an American composer for film and television.Born in New York, he grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from the High School of Music and Art and, afterwards, the Juilliard School of Music...

. It is a remixed version of the original theme Snow composed for the science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 television series The X-Files

The X-Files

The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...

in 1993. Released in March 1996 in most countries, it achieved a huge success, particularly in France where it reached number-one on the singles chart. The composition has since been covered by DJ Dado

DJ Dado

DJ Dado is an Italian disc jockey and record producer with Croatian roots, who is mostly known for his remix of Mark Snow's theme for X-Files, and for covering Giorgio Moroder's "The Legend Of Babel"...

, Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield

Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...

, Triple X and Alvin and the Chipmunks

Alvin and the Chipmunks

Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...

.

Song information

"The X-Files" typically used more instrumental music score than most hour-long dramas. According to the "Behind the Truth" segment on the Season 1 DVD, Mark Snow created the echo

Echo (phenomenon)

In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or by the walls of an enclosed room and an empty room. A true echo is a single...

 effect on his famous X-Files theme song 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

Electronic keyboard

An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...

 in frustration. Snow said, "this sound was in the keyboard. And that was it."

Chart performances

The single went straight to #2 on March 30, 1996, on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 and stayed there for three weeks, then kept on dropping. In France, the single entered the chart at #42 on April 6, 1996, climbed quickly until reaching #2 four weeks later. It remained blocked for five weeks at this position, behind Robert Miles

Robert Miles

Robert Miles is an Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ in electronica and alternative music.-Biography:...

's hit "Children

Children (song)

"Children" is a single by electronica composer Robert Miles from his album Dreamland. "Children" is Miles' most successful single, being certified Gold and Platinum in several countries and it reaching #1 in more than 12 countries...

", then topped the chart for a sole week, becoming the second instrumental number-one hit, before climbing. It totaled 12 weeks in the top ten and 30 weeks in the top 50. The single was re-charted from October 1998, but remained in low positions. It is the 754th best-selling single of all time in France. As a result, a remix CD single was released, but is much more uncommon.

Track listings

CD maxi

1. "The X-Files" (original version) – 3:25
2. "The X-Files" (terrestrial mix) – 4:20
3. "The X-Files" (P.M. Dawn remix) – 3:59

CD maxi

1. "The X-Files" (Original Version) – 3:25
2. "The X-Files" (DJ Delicious Remix) – 5:19
3. "The X-Files" (Ravers Nature Remix) – 3:59

Remix CD single

1. "The X-Files" (Secret Sessions Extended Mix) - 6:22
2. "The X-Files" (Secret Sessions Radio Edit) - 4:19
3. "The X-Files" (Map Mystery Mix) - 5:27
4. "The X-Files" (Terrestrial Mix) - 4:20

12" single

1. "The X-Files" (Original Version) – 3:25
2. "The X-Files" (Terrestrial Mix) – 4:20

Cassette

1. "The X-Files" (Original Version) – 3:25
2. "The X-Files" (Terrestrial Mix) – 4:20

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

Certifications and sales

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified	Physical sales
France	Gold	1996	250,000	425,000
UK	Silver	April 1, 1996	200,000

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	27
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	19
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	7
Finnish Singles Chart	4
French SNEP Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	8
Irish IRMA Singles Chart	3
Swedish Singles Chart	5
Swiss Singles Chart	11
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	2
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	37

End of year chart (1996)	Position
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	76
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	39

DJ Dado version

At the same time, DJ Dado

DJ Dado

DJ Dado is an Italian disc jockey and record producer with Croatian roots, who is mostly known for his remix of Mark Snow's theme for X-Files, and for covering Giorgio Moroder's "The Legend Of Babel"...

 covered the song in a dance version which became a top ten hit in many countries, though it failed to reach the top ten in France.

Track listings

CD single

1. "X-Files" (DJ Dado paranormal activity mix) – 6:38
2. "X-Files" (Claudio Diva sub-dream activity mix) – 8:40

CD maxi

1. "X-Files" (radio edit) – 3:57
2. "X-Files" (DJ Dado paranormal activity mix) – 6:42
3. "X-Files" (Claudio Diva sub-dream paranormal activity mix) – 8:44

CD maxi

1. "X-Files" (radio edit) – 3:57
2. "X-Files" (DJ Dado paranormal activity mix) – 6:41
3. "X-Files" (Tom Wilson Dyme mix) – 6:38
4. "X-Files" (dV8 deviant mix) – 6:29
5. "X-Files" (freak bros area 51 mix) – 6:53
6. "X-Files" (Claudio Diva sub-dream paranormal activity mix) – 8:44

12" maxi

1. "X-Files" (DJ Dado paranormal activity mix) – 6:42
2. "X-Files" (Claudio Diva sub-dream paranormal activity mix) – 8:44

CD maxi - Remixes

1. "X-Files" (2 Cowboys remix) – 5:07
2. "X-Files" (Reygroove remix) – 5:02
3. "X-Files" (Valez & L. Antolini remix) – 6:25
4. "X-Files" (Alex Voghi remix) – 6:25
5. "X-Files" (Miki B. remix - flute experience part I) – 8:38
6. "X-Files" (Moroldo & Mensi mix) – 4:35
7. "X-Files" (Hornbostel & M. Marvin remix) – 5:18
8. "X-Files" (Fabio Locati remix) – 6:18

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart	4
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	5
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	7
Finnish Singles Chart	3
French SNEP Singles Chart	20
German Singles Chart	19
Irish IRMA Singles Chart	5
Swedish Singles Chart	9
Swiss Singles Chart	2
UK Singles Chart	8

End of year chart (1996)	Position
Austrian Singles Chart	14
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	42
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	55
Swiss Singles Chart	16

Triple X version

The song was also covered by Triple X. This version was less successful than the other two, but reached number two in Australia.

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	2
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	31
French SNEP Singles Chart	34
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	39
Swedish Singles Chart	24

End of year chart (1996)	Position
Australian Singles Chart	11

"Tubular X" (Mike Oldfield) version

"The X-Files Theme" was released as a Japan only EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 in 1998 from the soundtrack album The X-Files: The Album

The X-Files: The Album

The X-Files: The Album was the soundtrack album by various artists released in conjunction with the 1998 movie, The X-Files. The album peaked at #26 on Billboard's chart and it was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies....

for the The X-Files movie

The X-Files (film)

The X-Files is a 1998 American science fiction-thriller film written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Rob Bowman. It is the first feature film based on The X-Files series created by Carter that revolves around a fictional FBI paranormal investigation unit called the X-Files...

.

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 part made up of a theme based upon Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield

Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...

's Tubular Bells

Tubular Bells

Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...

. Another track from Oldfield also appears, "The Source of Secrets", the opening piece from his Tubular Bells III

Tubular Bells III

Tubular Bells III is the 18th album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1998. A sequel to Oldfield's 1973 Tubular Bells and his 1992 Tubular Bells II albums, it was released on the 25th anniversary of the first Tubular Bells album....

album, which also based upon the same theme from the original Tubular Bells.

Track listing

1. "Tubular X" - Mike Oldfield
   Mike Oldfield
   Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
   
    – 3:53
2. "The X-Files Theme" - The Dust Brothers – 3:27
3. "The X-Files Theme" - Satoshi Tomiie
   Satoshi Tomiie
   Satoshi Tomiie is a Japanese house-music producer and DJ. He has written music for numerous soundtracks, including for the Animatrix soundtrack and remixed many artists including the Future Sound of London.-History:...
   
    Radio Edit – 4:17
4. "The X-Files Theme" - R.H. Factor Pop Radio Edit – 3:37
5. "The Source of Secrets" - Mike Oldfield – 5:33