Antony Szmierek, Getdown Services, KuleeAngee at Koko, London, 27.03.2025

You might remember from earlier in the year that I occasionally love to throw myself into a situation where I kind of don’t know what I got myself into in the spirit of discovering something new. This was precisely the case when I walked into Koko on a Thursday night. I have only been back to it since it reopened for a couple of the Koko Electronic nights, so you can imagine my slight surprise when I walked in on behalf of Metal JunkBox to be greeted by club bangers blasting from the speakers and the disco ball in full swing. My name was on the list, so I was definitely in the right place, but I nearly made a double-take.

KuleeAngee

Soon enough, KuleeAngee took to the stage, and things started to make a bit more sense. KuleeAngee is the project of two Scottish friends, Duncan Grant and Keshav Kanabar who essentially formed the band in line in front of Dalston Superstore after knowing each other from the session musician circuit. The band name derives from ‘Kalyan Ji’ – Kesh’s distant relative from India, with “Kalyan” meaning “new dawn” in Sanskrit, and it reflects the duo’s ethos of breaking down barriers of language, race, and sexuality. They blend guitar melodies with acid jazz with the aim of getting people moving, and they did that masterfully at Koko. They gave me Faux Real vibes, but in their instance, the elaborate dance routine was swapped for guitars and synth. Their debut single ‘Animated Love’ gave me a throwback to both the early days of Foals (and back to the days when I was queuing in front of Dalston Superstore), but their slow beats and synths also give nods to the 70s. If you see them on a lineup, they will get your feet moving instantly.

Getdown Services

With our feet warmed up, it was time for another duo to take to the stage – Getdown Services, a pair of best childhood mates from Bristol who won me over in a second. They opened with the title track of their debut album Crisps. Blending spoken word with a stand-up comedy delivery with ‘power disco’ and unabashed silliness, they were just the tonic (or crisps) I needed that night. With lyrics like “I’m having a party and you’re not invited / I’m building a castle and you’re not getting in”, “I’ve got choccy in my pocket (can I have some crisps?)” and “It smells like poo in here” – they shot up to the highest echelons of bands I will make a point of seeing whenever I get a chance. They expressed their gratitude for people coming down early to see them because “it’s London, you probably travelled an hour and a half to be here” (they were not too far off). They also weren’t afraid to take swipes at the state of the music industry: “Not the worst night for hundred and fifty quid – but let’s be honest, it’s £75. Someone is making a lot of money tonight – and it’s not us!”.

But underneath the silliness, the social commentary on British life and culture (the song about Jamie Oliver might be my second favourite after ‘Crisps’ – “Jamie says that dinner takes fifteen minutes / I say get back Jamie / I’ve only got five / Nadyia Hussain / hell of a fucking cook”) is as funny and full of references as it is sharp and though provoking. ‘I’m Not Feeling It’ is a poignant reflection on depression with a sunny disco beat and delivered with a dance and a bit of audience participation. They brought to mind Benefits (with more comedy), and their masterfully crafted lyrics reminded me of Bad Guys (their song ‘Crime’ might be the best song ever written). They got Koko dancing, singing along and shining phone torches. However to their “buy a fucking t-shirt or die” I can only say – my dudes, get a merch person and a card machine!

Antony Szmierek

Both the opening acts were the absolute perfect mix to warm up for Antony Szmierek, the former high school teacher who decided to take a punt on a career as a spoken word poetry with hip hop beats that has made him a Radio 6 darling and gathered him a cult following. Koko’s club stage started to fill up with friends and family, but also unsuspecting punters – at some point just before Antony’s performance, the voice came out from the speakers telling people that if they had a certain coloured wristband, they could come and watch the gig from the stage. He opened with the title track of his acclaimed debut album, Service Station At The End Of The Universe and instantly had the audience in the palm of his hands. The music, unashamed of its roots in the rich Manchester history, filled the room and instantly lifted everyone up. He was also clearly moved by the outpouring of support – Koko was packed up until the highest balcony and Antony would break up the songs just to point out family members, friends and even former pupils in the audience.

Occasionally called ‘the Manc Mike Skinner’, with The Streets being a clear reference, Antony and his band flowed through the crowd pleasers from the album, with ‘The Great Pyramid Of Stockport’, ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Fallacy’ and ‘Working Classic’ starting the set super strong. His ‘pop poetry’ juxtaposes surreal descriptions of his surroundings with vulnerability and openness about the complexities of his single-parent upbringing, making him instantly relatable. With huge choruses in a vein of Self Esteem and with the confessional nature of his poetry reminding me of Fred again.., I was instantly drawn in. His charisma and excellent rapport with his audience were admirable – never in one place for too long, he was commanding the whole room, frequently shaking hands with people on the stage and jumping over the railing to high five and hug people in the front row.

And I realise these five pound lessons won’t fix me
Because this is about letting go
And even here
Vinyasa flow
I’m obsessed with being chosen
And I’ve still got one eye open

After delivering some of the more hard-hitting songs like my favourite ‘Yoga Teacher’, Antony took a break from his material halfway through the 70-minute set to deliver a cover of Robbie Williams’ ‘Feel’, which instantly turned into a massive karaoke. But he brought it back down to his reality with ‘Crashing Up’, touching upon his ADHD and confessing “I’m starting to hate the H in my ADHD / Worry all my friends secretly hate me” – which hit close to home for me as I was going through my own AuDHD wobble that very moment.

To cement his place among Manchester’s musical icons, he closed his set with ‘Angie’s Wedding’ with the song’s nods to Happy Mondays, as well as ‘Rafters’ – to the audience’s absolute delight. The seemingly never-ending roaring applause meant only one thing – and Antony returned for three encores, with ‘Words To Auld Lang Syne’ ringing out the end of the night. If you like the music that moves your feet to also move you emotionally, existentially and philosophically, come and find yourself at Antony Szmierek’s spoken word raves. But for me, seeing three acts in sequence made up of men being open and honest about their mental health gave me a sense that there’s some hope for us as a society after all.