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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 has seen a corresponding album release on Ben's Bandcamp, along with the one-song The Entertainment soundtrack and a single from a forthcoming 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 audio files for the Acts I–IV and Entertainment soundtracks in the game's installation folder.

Act I

Kentucky Route Zero, Act I
No. Title Length
1. "The Stars Drop Away (Equus Oils)"   4:29
2. "Ghosts in the Static (Marquez Farm)"   3:28
3. "You've Got to Walk" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) 2:19
4. "Animal Bones (Exit)"   2:30
 

Released January 27, 2013. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Ben Babbitt. Mastered by Jake Elliott.

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"   4:20
3. "The Zero"   3:34
4. "Work and Need"   4:09
5. "Long Journey Home (Solo)"   3:13
6. "Julian"   4:56
7. "Long Journey Home (Ensemble)" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) 2:16
 

Released June 14, 2013. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Ben Babbitt. Mastered by Jake Elliott.

"Bureau of Reclaimed Spaces" was recorded by Ben Babbitt and Andy Spillman at Highland Park Presbyterian Church. "Long Journey Home" features vocals by Emily Cross, with Bob Buckstaff on double bass.

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"   3:06
3. "Hall of the Mountain King"   3:37
4. "Too Late to Love You"   6:14
5. "What Would You Give" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) 3:30
 

Released May 6, 2014. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Ben Babbitt.

"Too Late To Love You" features lyrics by Jake Elliott. "What Would You Give" features vocals by Emily Cross, with Bob Buckstaff on upright bass.

Listen to selected tracks from this album here.

Act IV

Kentucky Route Zero, Act IV
No. Title Length
1. "Dark Rum Noir"   1:58
2. "My Light Heaven"   3:50
3. "Glowing Arms"   3:29
4. "Riverworld"   4:19
5. "Angel Wings"   5:54
6. "Echo River Central Exchange"   4:20
7. "This World Is Not My Home" (by The Bedquilt Ramblers) 3:29
8. "Music for Rivers"   3:06
 

Released August 5, 2016. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Ben Babbitt. Mastered by Theo Karon at Hotel Earth in Los Angeles, CA.

"Dark Rum Noir", "My Light Heaven", "Glowing Arms", and "This World Is Not My Home" mixed by Theo Karom. Album artwork by Tamas Kemenczy.

Listen to selected tracks from this album here.

Act V

Kentucky Route Zero, Act V
No. Title Length
1. "I'm Going That Way[1]" (track number unknown) ?
 

Not yet released.

The Entertainment

The Entertainment Soundtrack
No. Title Length
1. "Letter Full of Promises" (feat. Juanita Rogers) 3:28
 

Released November 26, 2013.

Listen to this album here.

Junebug

Junebug
No. Title Length
1. "Static Between Stations" (track number unknown) 3:08
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Not yet released. "Static Between Stations" was released August 23, 2016.

Listen to this track from Junebug's upcoming self-titled album here. A music video for this song is viewable here.

Other tracks

A recording of "This World Is Not My Home" performed by The Bedquilt Ramblers was released on SoundCloud on January 15, 2013 and is available to listen to here; this song was eventually re-recorded in a more somber tone and features in Act IV of the game. An electronic version of this song by Ben Babbitt is also available on SoundCloud here.

A version of this song sung by Bill Monroe appeared in the game's Kickstarter trailer.

References