Swathed in creativity and thoughtful poetry, Antony Szmierek’s unparalleled songwriting has seen him the subject of a meteoric rise over the past twelve months. Today, he continues to thrill with the release of an upbeat new single ‘How Did You Get Here?’, out on underplay / Lab Records, accompanied by a captivating official music video. The song resides on the dancier end of his sonic spectrum, boasting a hip-hop flow with his trademark, dynamic lyricism.
What started as poetry performances on small stages led to skillfully crafted melodies to accompany his words, and from there more songs. Fast forward to today, and Antony is an A List artist on BBC 6 Music, performed live in session at Maida Vale for BBC Radio 1, played to huge crowds at festivals including Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Bluedot, Truck, Lost Village and Down The Rabbit Hole and will be performing on the coveted Later… With Jools Holland on October 7th – a rite of passage reserved for only the most deserving of artists.
Szmierek wrote words before songs. Novels at first, of which he’s published two – but he realised what he wanted people to take from them was smaller quotes, or soundbites. So, gradually his writing became shorter and shorter, boiling down into short stories. With his art, Szmierek joins a host of contemporaries whose skill for crafting melodies and lyrics translate beautifully into both songs and written works.
For Antony, everything slotted into place when the pandemic hit and he bought an electric piano. It became the vessel for the words he’d been writing; a piece of kit to add atmosphere, smudging them with UK garage tones, and the feeling of heading out on Friday night to seek freedom. What he does so well with his artistry is document incredibly specific details from his life, and others. It’s about making music that tells stories and makes him feel good. Having spent time working as a teacher throughout his twenties, he’s learned the value of “communities, people and empathy. All of these things I value as part of my personality now, I learned while
teaching.”