Ethan Rainer’s New Album – Music For Escape Rooms
Ethan Rainer’s New Album – Music For Escape Rooms
December 19th, 2025
Arising from the ashes of musical paralysis and chronic demo-itis, Te Whanganui-a-Tara’s Ethan Rainer unveils Music For Escape Rooms — his debut album, written and produced in the very escape room he once worked in. He produced it in the office in his off time, and sometimes while people were completing the escape room, just him a focusrite, electric guitar, sm57 and Korg Minilogue. He then finished the record in the quiet comfort of his flat. The album is out this December 19th, 2025.
Over the past three years, Rainer has been quietly shaping his own strain of indietronica. Where intimate songwriting meets atmospheric production and a palette of textured synths, field recordings, and ambient samples. The result is Music For Escape Rooms: a sonic reflection on the entrapment of modern life. The mundane routines, heartbreaks, and insecurities — and a yearning to break free from them. A collection of songs written from 2022 to 2024 needed some love and to “see the light of day”, Rainer’s brother Joel being a big advocate for getting them out, and to “stop overthinking it”.
Some of Ethan’s highlight tracks on the record that he wants to check out are ; ‘Banana Peels’, ‘Scorched’, ‘Weight’ and ‘Breaking Through’.
Previously known for his work with the psych band BADTAB, Rainer now steps into new creative territory, crafting a record that invites listeners to both escape and reflect. Music For Escape Rooms is, at its heart, music for finding light in confinement. A soundtrack to getting unstuck.
Check out all things Ethan Rainer below:
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