Music
Resources: Articles & interviews ⋅ Talks ⋅ Podcasts ⋅ Publications & books ⋅ Newsletter ⋅ Postcards ⋅ Patreon
Materials: Achievements ⋅ Ephemera ⋅ Wrongles ⋅ Phone numbers ⋅ Debug mode ⋅ Fonts ⋅ Music
The music of Kentucky Route Zero consists of an ambient soundtrack composed by Ben Babbitt with bluegrass tracks performed by The Bedquilt Ramblers. Each of the game's acts saw a corresponding album release on Ben's Bandcamp, along with the remastered full-game soundtrack, a one-song The Entertainment soundtrack, and album by Junebug.
Inspirations for the score include Hedia, Oneohtrix Point Never, Bill Monroe, Raymond Scott, Olivier Messiaen, and GAS.
Players who have purchased the game are able to access the soundtrack audio files for Acts I–V in the game's installation folder.
Physical copies of a vinyl version of the soundtrack and the Junebug LP were previously available to be pre-ordered at the iam8bit website.
Original Soundtrack
| Kentucky Route Zero Original Soundtrack |
|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stars Drop Away" | 4:31 |
| 2. | "Ghosts In the Static" | 3:27 |
| 3. | "You've Got To Walk" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) | 2:20 |
| 4. | "Bureau of Reclaimed Spaces" | 4:24 |
| 5. | "Julian" | 4:52 |
| 6. | "Long Journey Home (Solo)" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) | 3:17 |
| 7. | "Nameless Interiors" | 2:04 |
| 8. | "Hall of the Mountain King" | 3:42 |
| 9. | "Xanadu" | 2:44 |
| 10. | "Weird Vector" | 3:07 |
| 11. | "Too Late To Love You" (by Junebug) | 5:57 |
| 12. | "What Would You Give" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) | 3:27 |
| 13. | "Hold Music" | 4:24 |
| 14. | "Dark Rum Noir" | 1:57 |
| 15. | "My Light Heaven" | 3:49 |
| 16. | "Riverworld" | 4:19 |
| 17. | "Echo River Central Exchange" | 4:24 |
| 18. | "Angel Wings" | 5:52 |
| 19. | "This World Is Not My Home" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) | 3:27 |
| 20. | "Un Pueblo De Nada" | 2:59 |
| 21. | "To Love A Red Moon" | 3:20 |
| 22. | "The Arrival" | 1:36 |
| 23. | "The Library" | 2:15 |
| 24. | "5 Dogwood Drive" | 4:01 |
| 25. | "I'm Going That Way ft. Emily Cross and The Town Choir" | 3:09 |
| 26. | "The Clearing" | 3:18 |
Released January 28, 2020. Contains 26 of the 33 songs released for the game, lightly re-ordered for the vinyl format. On vinyl, Side A: 1-6; Side B: 7-12; Side C: 13-19; Side D: 20-26. Music by Ben Babbitt. Mastered by Theo Karon at Hotel Earth in Los Angeles, CA. "Dark Rum Noir" and "My Light Heaven" are performed in-game by Cyrano Cole but are not credited as such on this release.
Listen to this album here.
Memory Overflow
| Kentucky Route Zero Memory Overflow |
|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Flood" | 1:10 |
| 2. | "Last Look" | 2:54 |
| 3. | "April 2017" | 2:10 |
| 4. | "(270) 301-5797" | 0:42 |
| 5. | "65 at Night" | 2:15 |
| 6. | "Public Transportation" | 2:54 |
| 7. | "For LME" | 3:25 |
| 8. | "Lunar Landing" | 2:15 |
| 9. | "CA Video Music" | 3:26 |
| 10. | "Mireya's Show" | 0:56 |
| 11. | "Top Shelf Drone Tape" | 3:27 |
| 12. | "Organ Music" | 2:47 |
| 13. | "Hangar Guitar" | 1:41 |
| 14. | "Quiet Funeral" | 1:17 |
| 15. | "Xanadu Minimix I" | 3:49 |
| 16. | "Xanadu Minimix II" | 3:55 |
| 17. | "Weather Report" | 2:27 |
| 18. | "Hotmk 2013" | 2:27 |
| 19. | "Radio 92.2" | 2:46 |
| 20. | "Night Out" | 3:36 |
| 21. | "Long Journey demo" | 3:54 |
| 22. | "UPDN outtake" | 2:17 |
| 23. | "Radio Cluster" | 3:11 |
| 24. | "Underworld Drift" | 6:09 |
| 25. | "Mound Builders" | 10:57 |
| 26. | "Rolling Credits" | 2:24 |
Released April 2, 2021. Music by Ben Babbitt, spanning work from 2011 to 2020. Comprises music from the game's interludes, radio music, videos, cutouts, extended drifting mixes, and others. Mastered by Theo Karon at Hotel Earth in Los Angeles, CA. "Weather Report" is performed in-game by Cyrano Cole but is not credited as such on this release.
Four songs were originally released with different titles: "65 at Night" was "FM Picker"; "Public Transportation" was "Mels"; "Hotmk 2013" was "Hotmk outtake"; and "Radio 92.2" was "FM Dance". These titles were changed within hours of release.
Listen to this album here.
Act I
| Kentucky Route Zero, Act I |
|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Stars Drop Away (Equus Oils)" | 4:31 |
| 2. | "Ghosts in the Static (Márquez Farm)" | 3:27 |
| 3. | "You've Got to Walk" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) | 2:20 |
| 4. | "Animal Bones (Exit)" | 2:29 |
Released January 27, 2013. Written, produced, recorded, and mixed by Ben Babbitt and mastered by Jake Elliott. A remastered version was released on January 28, 2020, produced by Ben Babbitt and mastered by Theo Karen. The subtitles for each song were removed for the remaster.
"You've Got to Walk" features vocals by Emily Cross, with Bob Buckstaff on upright bass.
Listen to selected tracks from this album here.
Act II
| Kentucky Route Zero, Act II |
|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nameless Interiors" | 2:04 |
| 2. | "Bureau of Reclaimed Spaces" | 4:24 |
| 3. | "The Zero" | 3:33 |
| 4. | "Work and Need" | 4:10 |
| 5. | "Long Journey Home (Solo)" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) | 3:17 |
| 6. | "Julian" | 4:54 |
| 7. | "Long Journey Home" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) | 1:58 |
Released June 14, 2013. Written, produced, recorded, and mixed by Ben Babbitt and mastered by Jake Elliott. A remastered version was released on January 28, 2020, produced by Ben Babbitt and mastered by Theo Karen.
"Bureau of Reclaimed Spaces" was recorded by Ben Babbitt and Andy Spillman at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Highland Park, IL. "Long Journey Home" features vocals by Emily Cross, with Bob Buckstaff on double bass. The original release of the song featured a four-count and a brief snippet of studio room tone, and is 2:02 in length. These are edited out for the remastered version, which has a length of 1:58. The "Solo" version of the song originally came with roughly 23 seconds of silence at the end of the track, giving it a length of 3:40; this was trimmed out for the 2020 remaster.
Listen to selected tracks from this album here.
Act III
| Kentucky Route Zero, Act III |
|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Xanadu" | 2:44 |
| 2. | "Weird Vector" | 3:07 |
| 3. | "Hall of the Mountain King" | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Too Late to Love You" | 5:57 |
| 5. | "What Would You Give" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) | 3:27 |
Released May 6, 2014. Written, produced, recorded, and mixed by Ben Babbitt and mastered by Jake Elliott. A remastered version was released on January 28, 2020, produced by Ben Babbitt and mastered by Theo Karen.
"Too Late To Love You" features lyrics by Jake Elliott. The original release of Act III included the in-game vocal take and a short ambient section after the first chorus (the same found in-game when taking time to decide on a lyrical option), and is 6:14 in length. The newer master by Theo Karon features a different vocal take and is the same version found on Junebug's album Too Late to Love You, with a length of 5:57.
"What Would You Give" features vocals by Emily Cross, with Bob Buckstaff on upright bass.
Listen to this album here.
Act IV
| Kentucky Route Zero, Act IV |
|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dark Rum Noir" | 1:57 |
| 2. | "My Light Heaven" | 3:49 |
| 3. | "Glowing Arms" | 3:31 |
| 4. | "Riverworld" | 4:19 |
| 5. | "Angel Wings" | 5:52 |
| 6. | "Echo River Central Exchange" | 4:24 |
| 7. | "This World Is Not My Home" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) | 3:27 |
| 8. | "Music for Rivers" | 3:05 |
Released August 5, 2016. Written, produced, recorded, and mixed by Ben Babbitt and mastered by Jake Elliott. A remastered version was released on January 28, 2020, produced by Ben Babbitt and mastered by Theo Karen.
"Dark Rum Noir", "My Light Heaven", "Glowing Arms", and "This World Is Not My Home" mixed by Theo Karon. Album artwork by Tamas Kemenczy. "Dark Rum Noir", "My Light Heaven" and "Glowing Arms" are performed in-game by Cyrano Cole but are not credited as such on this release.
Listen to this album here.
Act V
| Kentucky Route Zero, Act V |
|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Arrival" | 1:40 |
| 2. | "The Library" | 2:15 |
| 3. | "5 Dogwood Drive" | 4:01 |
| 4. | "I'm Going That Way ft. Emily Cross and The Town Choir" | 3:09 |
| 5. | "The Clearing" | 3:18 |
Released January 28, 2020. Written and produced by Ben Babbitt. Mastered by Theo Karon at Hotel Earth in Los Angeles, CA.
"I'm Going That Way" performed by Emily Cross, with Ben Babbitt, Nikole Beckwith, Alex Rose, Walt McClements, Alina Cutrono, Anna Ialeggio, Theo Karon, and Thomas Carroll appearing under the name The Town Choir.
Listen to this album here.
The Entertainment
| The Entertainment Soundtrack |
|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Letter Full of Promises" (feat. Juanita Rogers) | 3:28 |
Released November 26, 2013. A remaster was released on January 28, 2020.
Listen to this album here.
Too Late to Love You
| Too Late to Love You |
|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | 1:11 |
| 2. | "Static Between Stations" | 3:07 |
| 3. | "Poison Dream" | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Lighter Than It Feels" | 3:12 |
| 5. | "Too Late To Love You" | 5:55 |
| 6. | "Interlude" | 1:37 |
| 7. | "Out Here" | 4:37 |
| 8. | "Deeply In Mind" | 4:35 |
| 9. | "Sky Remains" | 3:17 |
| 10. | "Next Time" | 3:20 |
| 11. | "Night Surrounds Us" | 5:02 |
Released October 2, 2020. Written and produced by Ben Babbitt in 2014–15 at the Coach House in Chicago, IL and Hotel Earth in Los Angeles, CA. Artwork and design by Camilo Medina. On vinyl, Side A: 1-6; Side B: 7-11.
The single "Static Between Stations" was released August 23, 2016 and was previously available to listen to here (archived copy). A music video for this song is viewable here. The music video was directed by Rebecca Rau and Alex Tyson, and stars Mireya Lucio, Theo Karon, and Ben Babbitt; makeup is by Alina Cutrono with costumes by Anna Leocha and Alina Cutrono, with special thanks to Tim Horner.
A short teaser video, using the song "Interlude", was made available on the WEVP-TV website and can be watched here.
"Too Late to Love You" appears in-game in Act III as an interactive scene in The Lower Depths. Players are able to choose one of three options, for each of the three verses, for Junebug to sing; one "definitive" lyric is presented on this album. "Sky Remains" and "Deeply in Mind" appear in-game in Act IV, playing as background music inside of the gas station. "Deeply in Mind" can also be heard in the Act IV Observational Trailer, viewable here.
Listen to this album here.
Other tracks
A recording of "This World Is Not My Home" performed by The Bedquilt Ramblers was released in the August 2011 newsletter and is available to listen to here. This song was eventually re-recorded in a more somber tone for Act IV of the game. The game's Kickstarter trailer features a version of this song sung by Bill Monroe.
An electronic version of "This World Is Not My Home" by Ben Babbitt is available on SoundCloud here.
A version of "What Would You Give" by the Bedquilt Ramblers, with an extended intro and outro, is available to listen to here.
An ambient version of "What Would You Give", created by Ben Babbitt during the development of Act I, is available to listen to here.