Antony Szmierek

Antony Szmierek is a fast-rising artist from Manchester, captivating audiences with thoughtful lyricism and engaging performances across rap, spoken word and dance music.

Antony features as an A-List artist on BBC Radio 6 Music and was named as one of their ‘Artists to Watch in 2024’, he has also performed live in session at Maida Vale for BBC Radio 1, where he was playlisted as their Introducing ‘Track of the Week’, and ‘Tune of the Week’ with the track ‘Dance Better’ as part of Radio 1’s Future Artists.

It was the 2023 release of his single ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Fallacy’ that kicked off his meteoric ascent. Set against the backdrop of a pounding kick drum and club-ready synths, Antony lets loose a stream of consciousness that lays out his vision of musical vulnerability and communal escapism.
The earworming record soon found its way onto the BBC 6 Music airwaves and led Szmierek to be named an ‘Artist of the Year 2023’ by the station. There followed appearances on Later… with Jools Holland, which marked a significant milestone in his career.

Elsewhere, Antony has played to huge festival crowds including multiple triumphant Glastonbury sets, Reading & Leeds, Bluedot, Truck, Lost Village and Down The Rabbit Hole, and sold out his debut UK headline tour last year including Manchester’s New Century Hall.

Nowhere is this exploration of escapism, self-expression and deep feeling more apparent than in Szmierek’s debut album, Service Station At The End of the Universe, which will be released in February 2025.
A nod both to the service stations that Szmierek has spent much of the past year in while gigging around the UK, as well as an homage to the Hitchhiker’s sequel, The Restaurant At The End of the Universe, the album plays as a tongue-in-cheek tale of “punks, weirdos and Manchester characters” all stationed at a mythical rest stop, as well as Antony’s own exploration of his life today.  

With album two already being written, plans for a new novel in the works and a tour through the UK and Europe booked for 2025, Szmierek is ready to spread his unique songs of sincerity further than ever before. There’s nowt to hide behind and we’re all the better for it.  


“Fundamentally British yet beautifully universal.” DIY - 5 Stars ★★★★★

“What makes ‘Service Station…’ so special is how it balances its narrative framework with genuine heart as Szmierek examines how we find meaning in the spaces between destinations” DORK - 5 Stars ★★★★★

“Manchester has an exciting new voice” Record Collector - 4 Stars ★★★★

Service Station At The End Of The Universe isn’t the mark of an artist finding his sound, but a confident, authentic trailblazer who knows his craft inside out.” NME - 4 Stars ★★★★

“Szmierek has this wonderful talent of finding profound beauty in the mundane and lavishing life’s inherent romance with a torrent of superlatives: all over a tight series of poppy hooks, flashes of garage and deep dancefloor beats” - Indie Is Not A Genre - 5 Stars ★★★★★

“The best thing I’ve heard all year.” Lauren Laverne, BBC 6Music

"Wonderful duality in this song here." Jack Saunders, BBC Radio 1

“His direct, spoken word tone makes this pondering feel blissfully optimistic, a source of reassurance in hard times.Time Out (Artists to Watch 2024)

“One of the best most original new things I’ve heard this year.” Chris Hawkins, BBC 6 Music

“Szmierek’s making a name for himself as a fusion of Mike Skinner and Simon Armitage: pure poetry laced within UK dance music.” Clash

“Little bit of Loyle Carner, little bit of The Streets, fresh out of Manchester.” Steve Lamacq, BBC 6 Music





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