There’s something magnetic about a track that feels like it’s navigating turbulence while somehow keeping you grounded. That’s the pull of Antony Szmierek’s latest, “Flight Simulator.” The Manchester poet has a way of turning everyday wonder into something you can move to, and this one lands right in the sweet spot of dance pop, melodic house, and EDM.
If you’ve been following Szmierek, you already know the vibe. He’s the guy who pairs thoughtful spoken word with rhythms that make you want to shift your weight from foot to foot. Critics have been catching on fast. DIY called him one of their Class of 2024, noting how his songs celebrate the beauty in the everyday. NME highlighted the tales of love, hope and ambition riding lightly psychedelic guitar riffs and UK garage kick patterns. Time Out pointed to that direct spoken word tone that feels blissfully optimistic even when things get heavy. The Line of Best Fit has him down as one of the leading lights of a new generation of British songwriters, and Clash praised the mix of romance and grit.
In a short space of time he’s stacked up the kind of milestones most artists spend years chasing. BBC 6 Music named him one of their Artists of the Year for 2023. He made his television debut on Later… With Jools Holland, sold out his first UK headline tour, and dropped the acclaimed EPs Poems To Dance To and Seasoning. A-list singles on 6 Music, a Maida Vale session for Radio 1’s Future Artists, and Introducing Track of the Week support followed. His mission, as he puts it, is simple: let other people know this is all possible.
“Flight Simulator” continues that thread. Built around spoken word delivery that feels conversational yet precise, it sits over pulsing electronic production that leans into melodic house and EDM territory. There’s a collaborative lift from Imogen and the Knife that adds ethereal layers without pulling the focus away from Szmierek’s voice. The track draws on the idea of someone trying to land a plane that’s going down, trusting luck more than logic, weaving in references that feel personal and universal at once. It’s the kind of song that works both in headphones on a quiet walk and on a dancefloor when the lights start to blur.
That blend of literate storytelling and club-ready energy is exactly what’s keeping spoken word and dance music conversations interesting right now. While a lot of electronic music chases pure atmosphere or pure hedonism, Szmierek keeps the human bit front and centre. You get the sense he’s still the same person who started writing poems and ended up filling rooms, and that honesty comes through in the production choices as much as the words.
The timing feels right too. With his second album Decoding Birdsong on the way, this single acts like a clear signal of where he’s heading: still grounded in the everyday, still optimistic, still ready to make you move. Manchester’s scene has always had space for characters who don’t fit neat boxes, and Szmierek is carving out his own lane inside it.
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What do you think of this artist’s sound? Let me know in the comments.
