Some songs are written because an artist has a story to tell. Others are written because there is something inside them that has remained unresolved for years, waiting for the right moment to finally find a voice. Garrett Anthony Rice’s “Going Up (to see him)” belongs firmly in the latter category. It is an intensely personal piece of songwriting shaped by memory, absence and the difficult process of coming to terms with a loss that has remained part of the artist’s life for decades.
Set for release on 24th August 2026, “Going Up (to see him)” is the lead single from Rice’s ambitious 18-track double album, EQUINOX. More than simply introducing the forthcoming project, however, the song establishes an emotional foundation for an artist willing to confront some of the most difficult experiences of his past through music.
The story behind the track is heartbreaking. Rice wrote it as a tribute to his best friend, who died by suicide at just 21 in Dublin during the early 1990s. What makes the song particularly significant is the amount of time that passed before Rice was able to fully express what that loss meant to him. Decades later, during the recording sessions for EQUINOX in 2024, those emotions finally found their way into the music.
That sense of time is important to understanding the song. This is not grief captured in the immediate aftermath of tragedy. It is grief that has been carried, lived with and perhaps understood differently through the passing years. There is a maturity to that perspective. The song appears less interested in simply documenting sadness than in examining the enduring relationship between memory and loss.
Even the title, “Going Up (to see him),” carries considerable emotional weight. It suggests movement toward someone who is no longer physically present, creating a phrase that can be interpreted through longing, remembrance and the desire for connection. There is something almost conversational about the wording, which makes the sentiment feel personal rather than grandiose. It sounds like the language of someone still carrying an emotional connection to a person who has been gone for many years.
Musically, the track is supported by a remarkable group of collaborators. Tim Will on piano, Geoff Dugmore on drums and Chris Webb on bass provide the instrumental foundation, while the Dublin African Gospel Choir adds soaring vocal textures that give the recording a sense of scale and collective emotion.
The choir’s involvement is particularly meaningful within the context of the song. Rice begins with an intensely individual experience, but the presence of a large vocal ensemble allows that private grief to become something communal. The emotional world of the song expands beyond one friendship and one person’s memories, creating space for anyone who has experienced profound loss to find something familiar within it.
The instrumentation also appears carefully chosen for a song that deals with such emotionally complex material. Piano can carry intimacy and vulnerability, while drums and bass provide the movement necessary to prevent the track from becoming static. The gospel choir introduces another dimension entirely, bringing warmth, uplift and a feeling of reaching beyond the immediate pain.
That balance is central to the song’s appeal. “Going Up (to see him)” is rooted in grief, but it does not appear to be defined solely by grief. Rice’s intention is ultimately to offer solace and hope to people who have experienced similar loss. That changes the emotional destination of the song. Rather than leaving the listener inside despair, it searches for a form of continuing connection.
There is also an interesting contrast between the deeply personal origins of the track and the scale of the project surrounding it. EQUINOX is an 18-track double album, meaning this single represents only one part of a much larger artistic statement. Yet choosing such a personal song as the lead single immediately tells listeners something important about Rice’s approach to songwriting. Authenticity appears to take precedence over easy introduction.
Rice’s wider musical journey further strengthens that impression. Based in Greystones, County Wicklow, after spending much of his life in the Dublin and Wicklow area, he has developed an artistic identity centred on storytelling and lived experience. His work with accomplished musicians and collaborators, including producer Chris Potter, demonstrates an ability to surround deeply personal songwriting with musicianship capable of giving those stories greater emotional dimension.
What ultimately makes “Going Up (to see him)” stand out is its refusal to treat loss as something that simply disappears with time. Some people leave our physical lives but remain present in our memories, our decisions, our stories and the emotions attached to particular places and moments. Rice understands that distinction, and the song appears to inhabit that space between absence and continued connection.
It is a difficult subject, but the purpose behind the music is not hopelessness. It is remembrance. It is acknowledgement. Most importantly, it is an attempt to turn personal pain into something that might help somebody else feel less alone.
As the opening statement from EQUINOX, “Going Up (to see him)” is a deeply human piece of songwriting that transforms decades of silence into an expression of memory, love and enduring connection. Its greatest strength is not simply that the story behind it is moving, but that Rice has found a musical language through which that story can become meaningful to people beyond his own experience.
