Antony Szmierek Releases New Single 'The Heron'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8lAWBK0v9E

Manchester poet, writer and producer Antony Szmierek returns with his first new music of 2026 — and it’s an easy pick for Track of the Day.

New single ‘The Heron’, out now via Mushroom Music / Virgin Music Group, sees Szmierek leaning further into the shimmering club textures that defined his breakout debut Service Station At The End Of The Universe. Built around looping piano lines and a relentless disco-house pulse, the track pairs dancefloor momentum with the spoken-word lyricism that has quickly become his signature.

Premiered this morning on Lauren Laverne’s BBC 6 Music show, ‘The Heron’ arrives as Szmierek’s first release since the critically acclaimed 2025 album that propelled him from Manchester cult hero to one of the UK’s most compelling new voices.

The inspiration behind the track is characteristically poetic. Szmierek found himself returning for years to a heron nesting along the banks of the River Mersey, eventually seeing something of his own life reflected in the bird — a creature existing between two worlds, just as he found himself balancing everyday life in Manchester with a rapidly expanding audience.

“Many of us are adrift in a world of short-form slop and a punishing news cycle,” Szmierek says of the song. “But The Heron provides a manifesto for survival. Patience, self-reliance, looping piano and relentless bass.” He continues: “The lyrics imagine the bird as a sort of preacher — an antidote to modern malaise and a reminder to enjoy the stillness as well as the dance. You’ll never be alone again, my love.”

Produced alongside longtime collaborator Max Rad, the track arrives with a surreal official video directed by Zak Watson, leaning further into Szmierek’s offbeat world-building. Since the release of Service Station At The End Of The Universe, Szmierek’s rise has been rapid. The album earned widespread praise and took him from festival appearances at Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, SXSW and Eurosonic to a TV debut on Later… with Jools Holland and sold-out headline shows across the UK and Europe. Just last month he closed Solomun’s Alexandra Palace shows, performing to more than 20,000 people across two nights.

Now Szmierek is preparing to take his live show — often described as something closer to a communal experience than a conventional gig — across the Atlantic for the first time, with newly announced US tour dates in Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco this May, following a run of European shows.

With more new music expected to follow soon, ‘The Heron’ feels like the start of another chapter for one of the UK’s most distinctive emerging voices.