INTERVIEW:
Antony Szmierek
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AN incredible artist who I tipped for big success…
it has been a mighty pleasure finding out more about the incredible Antony Szmierek. I think I first heard the Manchester-based artist’s music via Laurene Laverne on BBC Radio 6 Music. She is a champion of his talent - and the station in general have spotlighted and raved about someone with a very long and golden career ahead. His new E.P., Poems to Dance To, I think, is his finest work. Szmierek seems to grow in confidence and wonder with each new pearl he releases! If you are new to this prime talent, then here is some background to a very special and distinct voice in music. Someone who is very much primed and ready for some of the world’s biggest stages:
“Antony Szmierek is a spoken word and indie hip-hop artist making unique moves by blending his poetic, often introspective lyricism with undeniably smooth riffs and nostalgic beats. Hailed by Lauren Laverne as "the best thing I've heard all year" and described as "Mike Skinner spliced with Simon Armitage" - his track 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Fallacy' spent 4 weeks on the 6 Music B-list, as well as being featured on Jack Saunders' 'Future Artists' show on Radio 1. The same track also bagged the high score on Steve Lamacq's legendary Round Table. Support continues to pour in from the likes of Craig Charles, Steve Lamacq, Nemone, Mary Anne Hobbs and Chris Hawkins”.
If you are near anywhere Szmierek is playing soon, do make sure you grab a ticket! He is a live performer who has earned big reviews, and he has this very special bond with the audience. In addition to discussing his latest E.P., I ask whether there is more music ahead, who he’d like to collaborate with given the chance, what sort of music he grew up on and around, in addition to what it has been like playing his songs to a loving and receptive crowd. It has been a real treat to interviewing a magnificent artist who…
SHOULD be on everyone’s minds!
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Hi Antony. How are you? How has your week been?
I’m good thank you! In a brief respite between festivals and looking after some kids in a Guide Hut over the holidays. Double life.
Your debut album, Giving Up for Beginners, came out in 2021. Since then, you have released a series of singles and an incredible E.P., Poems to Dance To. Looking back at where you started and where you are now, how do you feel you have evolved and changed as an artist?
Thanks so much! It does all seem to have happened quite quickly. I think even looking back at P2D2, I can hear myself finding my feet as an artist, but I think I’ve landed now. It’s really helped me find the sound I’ve been looking for playing with the band this summer. I’ve been writing a lot, trusting the spaces between my words, and trying to push that honesty further than I have before in the songwriting. The more people trust me, the more I seem to be able to trust myself. It’s a nice feeling.
“I found lockdown very difficult as everybody did, and this was what I needed to do to keep myself afloat”
How strange or difficult was it sort of being a ‘lockdown musician’? At such a strange time, was it quite cathartic being able to put music out?
It wasn’t really a conscious choice; I just had a lot of writing, and music is sort of what I do for a hobby - that being finding new music and experiencing it live. I didn’t overthink it or make it with an audience in mind (I blame this for some very local references and not adopting a pseudonym!) I found lockdown very difficult as everybody did, and this was what I needed to do to keep myself afloat. So, very cathartic indeed.
Take me back to the start – right to the start. What sort of music did you grow up listening to as a child and teen?
My first love was Arctic Monkeys. The lyrics and the storytelling and the identity they gave me as a teen. On the bus, I’d listen to lots of Hip-Hop; some U.K. stuff like Kano, as Grime was taking hold. And loads of unreleased Kanye West demos that my friend and I were convinced was a ‘leak’ of his next album. They were not.
The title of your E.P., Poems to Dance To, seems like apt. The songs do seem like poems with music accompanying them. Do the words come first and the composition builds around that? What is your songwriting process like?
Words first always, but now there’s a feeling as well. When it’s good, the songs - the genre and the mood and even the tempo - come to me all at once. Sometimes I adapt old notes, and sometimes I work on a rough sketch that Robin or Luis send me - those being the producers I’ve had help me along thus far. But I almost always at least have a title. That’s how ‘Hitchhiker’ started.
Your music has received acclaim from websites, and radio stations alike. BBC Radio 6 Music especially have championed your music. I have heard you interviewed by Lauren Laverne. How important and encouraging is it having someone like her recognising your talent and giving your music love?
I’ve said probably dozens of times now that I’m a big Radio Head. I’ve been listening to Lauren for years, alongside Craig (Charles) and Lammo (Steve Lamacq), and just 6 in general. It really is a big club, and on tour I’ve met so many of the ‘6 Music family’. Lauren has been so encouraging and has approached everything as a friend would - she’s so warm, and I feel incredibly lucky to have her in my corner.
“Honestly, I’m so thankful for the difficult lessons I’ve taught over the years!”
In addition to music you are also a teacher. Do you think your training and experience as a teacher goes into your music? What do your students make of your songs?
Performing is so so similar to teaching. You’ve got a group of people watching you who you want to feel safe and welcome and included. Honestly, I’m so thankful for the difficult lessons I’ve taught over the years! And the admin stuff, the social media, the artwork, the press - just prioritising and keeping your head - is something that I wouldn’t have managed without teaching first.
The Words to Auld Lang Syne is your latest track. I especially love the video – which looked very cool to shoot! What was the particular inspiration behind the song?
Everybody starts the year with these resolutions and false promises, and then we all sing this song we barely know the words to kick it all off. We’re all just pretending and mumbling and masking all the time but we rarely admit it. I just loved that metaphor, and I wanted to make a song that felt like New Years’ Eve without actually mentioning it explicitly.
You have some great gigs coming up – including spots at Reading and Leeds! How crazy is it that you are playing such huge festivals, and what has the reaction been like from the crowds you have played to so far?
Yeah, we were really thrown in at the deep end! It’s been the perfect festival season, but it’s been very emotional and overwhelming too. The crowds have recently started singing the words back at me, and as everybody says, there is absolutely nothing like that feeling.
Every artist has a wish list in terms of people they’d like to collaborate with. Who is on your list?
I’d love to work with Jarvis Cocker! I’ve got a song that he’d be great on. I’d also love to do something with Arlo Parks, and maybe a collab with Barry Can’t Swim. Let’s put those out into the ether and see what happens.
Finally, and for being a good sport, you can choose any song you like (from another artist) and I will play it here.
Let’s go with ‘Telephobia’ by Baby Dave and Kate Nash. A bit Spoken Word, lots of longing, and a proper little groove to it.
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