Jonathan Snipes

Jonathan Snipes
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Role:	Composer, Electronic Musician, Sound Designer
BSG Universe:	Caprica and Re-imagined Series
Date of Birth:
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
Nationality:	USA
Official Site
IMDb profile

Jonathan Snipes is an electronic musician, composer, and sound designer who collaborated with Bear McCreary on music for Caprica and the Re-imagined Series. Known primarily for his work with the electronic duo Captain Ahab and the experimental hip-hop group clipping., Snipes brought innovative electronic elements to the Battlestar Galactica musical universe.

A childhood friend of Bear McCreary, Snipes contributed custom synthesizer sounds, sample libraries, and source music that helped establish the distinctive sonic identity of Caprica's futuristic nightclub environments. His most significant contribution was the song "Was Love," performed by his band Captain Ahab during a pivotal robot dance sequence in the episode "Gravedancing."

Background

Snipes grew up in a musical household in Riverside, California. His mother played violin while his father worked extensively with the local opera company. When his father died when Jonathan was eight, he left behind an extensive classical music collection that became Snipes' primary musical education.

The pivotal moment in Snipes' musical development came at age 11 when he discovered Philip Glass's 1985 "Mishima" soundtrack, which he described as "the first in a long litany of records that broke my brain." This discovery led him to electronic pioneers like Wendy Carlos and eventually to experimental electronic music.

Snipes received his undergraduate and graduate training in theater sound design at UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television, where he has taught since 2008. Unable to achieve proficiency with traditional instruments despite studying violin, trumpet, bagpipe, piano, and voice, computers became his musical salvation, allowing him to compose without technical barriers.

Captain Ahab and the Caprica Connection

In 2001, Snipes formed the electronic duo Captain Ahab with Jim Merson, specializing in what they termed "ravesploitation" - a DIY approach to jumpstyle and electropop. The band's aesthetic proved perfect for Caprica's futuristic nightclub environments, with their music appearing throughout the series' V-Club scenes.

Bear McCreary, recognizing the perfect fit between Captain Ahab's sound and Caprica's technological society, commissioned multiple tracks for the series. As McCreary noted: "His music is a perfect fit for this club, so you'll hear lots more Captain Ahab songs in the V-Club in the coming episodes."

Musical Philosophy

Captain Ahab's approach was deliberately anti-academic and inclusive, rejecting genre elitism and focusing on making music that demanded active listening rather than serving as passive background. This approach, which they called "The End of Irony," emphasized sincere engagement with styles often dismissed as "guilty pleasures."

Collaboration with Bear McCreary

The professional relationship between Snipes and McCreary grew from their childhood friendship based on shared love of movie soundtracks. McCreary began incorporating Snipes' electronic expertise into his film and television scores, with Snipes appearing "more often in my scores than perhaps any other single musician," according to McCreary.

Beyond Caprica, this collaboration extended to Eureka, Wrong Turn 2, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Trauma, and the final episode of Battlestar Galactica. Snipes contributed custom synthesizer sounds, sample libraries, and electronic elements that enhanced McCreary's orchestral approach.

Working Methodology

McCreary would provide Snipes with specific scenes or creative briefs, allowing him broad creative freedom within narrative constraints. For the famous U-87/Philomon dance sequence, McCreary simply showed Snipes the scene and asked for something with a "high-tech feel" suitable for a robot dance.

"Was Love": Crafting Emotion for Artificial Consciousness

Snipes' most significant contribution to Caprica was "Was Love," the Captain Ahab song featured in "Gravedancing" during the U-87 robot's/Zoe-R's dance with Philomon. The track served as a poignant exploration of artificial consciousness and emotional connection.

Snipes approached the composition with remarkable sophistication, explaining: "I watched the scene a lot before and while writing. I wanted to create something that felt both new and nostalgic, and wasn't quite a love song, since this relationship has some pretty ridiculous barriers to overcome." He crafted a song that was "half about a failed relationship, and half about the end of the world that's still beautiful and tender."

The track features additional musicians John W. Snyder on piano and David Rothbaum on guitars, demonstrating Snipes' ability to integrate live instruments with electronic programming. The song's structure builds from simple, repetitive foundations with sudden dynamic shifts and textural changes, maintaining emotional complexity while fitting seamlessly into the Caprica universe's aesthetic.

Technical Innovation and Sound Design

Beyond songwriting, Snipes served as a crucial technical collaborator, providing Bear McCreary with custom synthesizer sounds, sample libraries, and electronic elements. His studio contained extensive analog synthesizer collections including a Prophet V, Oberheim SEM, SH-101, Arp Odyssey, Korg MS-20, and various drum machines and samplers.

Snipes' technical approach combined cutting-edge digital tools with vintage analog equipment. He developed custom Max/MSP patches over 10+ years for live performance and composition, while maintaining a software-agnostic philosophy. His modular synthesizer systems provided unique sounds that enhanced McCreary's orchestral arrangements.

His sound design philosophy drew from musique concrète principles, finding musicality in "broken technology" and unwanted sounds. This approach proved particularly effective for science fiction scoring, where unusual timbres could suggest technological or otherworldly environments.

Musical Style

Snipes' compositional style represents a unique fusion of experimental electronic techniques with accessible melodic content. His work combines classical music foundations from his childhood with underground electronic culture, academic sound design training, and film scoring expertise.

His use of analog synthesizers reflects deep knowledge of electronic music history, drawing comparisons to pioneers like Wendy Carlos, John Carpenter, and Italian horror film composers like Goblin. However, his approach remains distinctly contemporary, incorporating modern production techniques and responding to current technological possibilities.

Other Projects

clipping.

Snipes is a founding member of the experimental hip-hop group clipping., formed with rapper Daveed Diggs and fellow producer William Hutson. The group has received critical acclaim for albums including "There Existed An Addiction To Blood" (2019), which explores horror themes through innovative production techniques.

Film Scoring

Snipes has established himself as a significant figure in horror film scoring, with notable works including Starry Eyes (2014), Room 237 (2013), The Nightmare (2015), and A Glitch in the Matrix (2021). Critics consistently recognize him as a standout composer in the horror genre, with his analog synthesizer approach drawing comparisons to John Carpenter's influential work.

Legacy and Critical Reception

The critical reception of Snipes' work consistently emphasizes his innovation and technical skill. His collaboration with Bear McCreary has been consistently praised, with McCreary stating: "I owe Brendan and Snipes big time for coming through with such amazing compositions. They are both incredibly important components of the BSG / Caprica musical universe."

The official Caprica soundtrack release prominently features "Was Love," indicating the track's importance to the series' musical identity. While his direct contributions were limited to a handful of tracks, Snipes' work helped establish the distinctive sonic identity that separated Caprica from its predecessor while maintaining thematic continuity with the broader BSG universe.

External Links

• Official Jonathan Snipes website
• Jonathan Snipes Bandcamp
• Captain Ahab Bandcamp