Antony Szmierek: From Poetry To Something You Can Dance To

There’s something quietly compelling about the way Antony Szmierek arrived in music, not through ambition, but through observation, writing, and a moment of stillness that pushed everything forward. What began as poetry, scribbled over time, slowly found its way into sound during a period when the world itself felt suspended.

The result is a voice that feels both intimate and expansive, somewhere between spoken word, club energy, and emotional release. In this conversation, we talk about honesty, process, and that fragile space where vulnerability meets rhythm, and words turn into something you can dance to.

Hi, and thank you for your time! I’m sure fans would be interested in knowing more about your backstory. How did you start the band?

I was a high school teacher for a long time, actually. I never thought of a career in music as a realistic option, but I have been writing poetry since I was a teenager. Just noticing things and writing them down. And then we had the pandemic, and I was going out of my mind and started setting them to music. One song, Dreamscape, was picked up by BBC 6music and the rest is history.

For newcomers to your music, if you had to pick one track that shows people who you are as an artist, which one would it be?

I’d probably start with ‘Rafters’. Huge danceable thing with a very specific and very wordy monologue over the top.

Is there a specific philosophy or worldview underlying your music?

Honesty, I think I lay myself bare in the lyrics, and at our shows I ask the audience to do the same. For an hour, just be together. Disappear. Dance. Cry.

How do you think your sound has evolved over the years? Did you always have in mind to sound the way you sound today?

It’s always evolving, hopefully! At first, it was a bit more mixtapey, and I wasn’t really settled into a genre; there was some indie and hip-hop stuff, but I think now it’s undeniably dance music, just played by a live band instead of CDJs.

Take me through your sound design process. Does the conception come first, or do the songs evolve naturally? Do you have a clear idea of what it will be before you start to make it?

Yes always! I always go into the studio with a clear concept and usually a poem that exists already, which I then fit to music. I try to do as much of the world-building as possible before I take my stuff to collaborators or producers. But they make it good.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind, and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter this state more easily?

Annoyingly, I think I write better when I’m tired or hungover or in transit. I think when I’m only sort of half-conscious the more honest and profound stuff falls out easier. A lot of the songs have really quite sad lyrics if you take the dance music away, and I love that juxtaposition.

In how much do you feel creative decisions are shaped by cultural differences, and in how much, vice versa, is the perception of sound influenced by cultural differences?

I think touring really shows you that, despite cultural differences, a lot of really integral stuff is universal. Music is universal. I used to worry a lot that my very local, Manchester / UK-based lyrics wouldn’t work internationally, but they do! I think sometimes the more specific you get, the more universal the feeling, and I’m not sure why, but I am relieved.

How do you know when a track is ready? Does it ever become difficult to refine ideas or stop perfecting?

I don’t have a huge problem with this, thankfully. There have been songs on the forthcoming second record that were a little harder to prise out, but usually the feeling in the room is something to trust. There’s a lot of excitable energy in the studio when something is working. And sometimes tears when they’re finished.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise, or reading poetry play?

I do think reading poetry is such a good thing to practice around the edges when you’re writing. You are what you eat, as you say. I think mostly it’s got to be phones off, eyes closed, though, right? Deep breaths. What are you trying to convey? Why?

Guilty pleasure time. What would you say are some of your current most guilty pleasures? All is fair game: food, books, video games, whatever floats your boat. Let us have it.

I’ve been watching a lot of videos of The Sims in the dead of night. People renovating fictional houses.

What other creative outputs do you guys engage in that we may not suspect?

I go to the cinema a lot on my own. That feels creative and personal. And I’ve been learning to DJ! Which is a really fun and active way to listen to music.

To wrap it up, what do you hope to do with your art in the future? I mean, do you have any crazy goals?

I think of myself as a writer, really! I want to do everything. Writing a novel is pretty isolating, and I’ve realised I’m happiest in a band or collaborating. But I’d love to do a proper poetry book. Short stories, maybe. A script! I always have ideas for scripts. Maybe that.