<p>Are your dreams ever past their expiration date? For Dublin-based singer-songwriter Garrett Anthony Rice, the answer is a resounding <em>no</em>. </p><p>In this episode of the creator-focused podcast, <em>Let&#39;s Talk Media</em>, host Vedant Akhauri sits down with Rice to uncover one of the most unbelievable underdog stories in the modern music industry.</p><p>After putting his artistic dreams on hold in the mid-1990s to pay his mortgage and raise a family, Rice spent 30 years away from music. Following a post-COVID life reassessment, he finally decided to record the songs he had been quietly holding onto.</p><p>Releasing his debut album, titled <em>Reflections Part Two, The Very Best Of</em>, under the alias &quot;i Consult,&quot; Rice independently racked up <strong>150,000 streams across 93 countries</strong> despite not even having an Instagram account to promote it.</p><p>Just two months later, his music caught the ear of legendary producer <strong>Chris Potter - </strong>who has worked with icons like The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and The Verve. Potter immediately cleared his schedule to work with Rice. The result? <strong>Equinox - </strong>an ambitious 18-track project that makes Rice <strong>the first solo artist in musical history to release a double album for their second record</strong>.</p><p>In this episode, we discuss:</p><ul><li><strong>The 30-Year Hiatus &amp; DIY Success:</strong> How Rice completely bypassed traditional industry gatekeepers to launch a global music career later in life.</li><li><strong>A Historic Collaboration:</strong> What it&#39;s like going from complete obscurity to recording in the home studio of one of the world&#39;s greatest producers in just four months.</li><li><strong>Unconventional Songwriting:</strong> Rice’s highly unique approach to crafting songs, from building his own guitar chords from scratch, to structuring an anti-war anthem like James Joyce&#39;s famously complex stream-of-consciousness novel, <em>Ulysses</em>.</li><li><strong>&quot;My Sons&quot; &amp; Classic Rock Legends:</strong> The story behind the song he wrote for Peggy Gallagher pleading for her sons (Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis) to reconcile, plus an incredible one-take studio moment paying tribute to his idol, Jimi Hendrix.</li><li><strong>The &quot;Dumbed Down&quot; State of Modern Pop:</strong> Rice’s fierce, unfiltered critique of modern acoustic music, and why he believes the industry has replaced the otherworldly magic of artists like David Bowie and John Lennon with a boring, algorithmic formula purely designed to generate streams.</li><li><strong>Recorded in October 2025: </strong>Garrett has since released more music worth checking out.</li></ul><p>Stream his new singles from <em>Equinox</em> on Spotify under <strong>Garrett Anthony Rice</strong>. Stream his debut album <em>Reflections Part Two, The Very Best Of</em> on Spotify under his alias <strong>I Consult</strong>.</p><p>Follow him on Instagram &amp; TikTok: <strong>@Garrett AnthonyRice</strong> and on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566641047934#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"><strong>Garett Anthony Rice</strong></a>.</p><p>If you like this podcast, please subscribe and leave a rating. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can follow the show on Instagram <strong>@</strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/letstalkmediava/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"><strong>letstalkmediava</strong></a>.</p><p>New episodes drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays.</p>