Britain’s energetic metallers, PREMIER JESTER, continue their meteoric rise with the release of their brand new single and video, ‘Slow Dance’. We waxed lyrical with them here:
Who is in Premier Jester, how did you meet and what do you play?
Joey: Premier Jester is Joey Yates (clean vocals/harsh backing), Jimmy Martin (harsh vocals/clean backing), Jonah Pritchard (Guitar), Adam Berces (Bass) & Chris Belae (drums).
Haha it’s basically a ‘tinder’ band because we all met online through an app which connects musicians! Jimmy kicked things off then one-by-one we all came together to form the PJ line up you see today – I thought his message was a scam at first but decided to have a look ‘just in case’ I liked the vision Jimmy and so we entered into a vision quest together! Now a year later with a headline show coming up and thousands and views and streams my life has never been so exciting as it is now! Best scam ever!! Haha.
What is your earliest musical memory?
Jimmy: My earliest musical memory was learning to play the Trombone in primary school haha. I remember learning to read sheet music pretty young (which I’ve now completely forgotten) and just loving the feeling of playing and perfuming. From there it escalated to primarily guitars but also pianos, drums, synths and eventually singing! Good times.
When did you begin songwriting?
Jonah: Our creative process typically involves writing a riff/melody and uploading it to a shared band drive for feedback. Sometimes a member contributes a full song idea and sometimes it’s just a riff or song title, which we then develop as a group.
You have your new single ‘Slow Dance’; out now. What is the story/inspiration behind the track?
The idea behind Slow Dance was to highlight and embrace the awkwardness when finding yourself in that kind of ‘love at first sight’ crushing at a gig type scenario and how awkward (particularly as a scene kid) that it can be. I’m sure everyone has been there once, and we thought why not make it a nostalgic upbeat kind of reminder of those times!
Where did you record the single who produced them?
Jimmy: We’re actually lucky enough to have two big names helping us produce our music…here in the UK Meyrick De La Fuente (Floodgate Audio/Exist Immortal) gets the best out of us in the studio – from day one Meyrick matched our vibe and energy which made tracking the music really easy and so much fun..!!
Once produced, we send the files over the Germany where Christoph Weiczorek (Sawdust Recordings/Annisokay) handles the mixing and mastering, Christoph’s electro experience and roster of similar bands he’s mixed really
helped us craft the ‘sound’ we were looking to achieve on this song. Talk about the A team!!
Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?
Joey: When you say recording sessions I think of the videos as well as the actual recording of the music. But yeah, there have been many funny moments during both. We always have stupid conversations but then yeah we also get up to mischief and there’s normally some kind of hilarious antics going on in the background… I guess you’ll have to use your imagination 😀
Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?
Adam: We use specific guitars depending on the tones we want but keep the pickups the same, we rely heavily on modern technology, pedals/plug ins etc to help us achieve the modern sound we want. We have been lucky enough to get some very good amps and equipment from our producers and friends as well – thanks Huw & Meyrick!
Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?
Jonah: Invincible is probably our happiest song because it’s simply about partying and good vibes! Our angriest is harder to pinpoint because we don’t really consider ourselves an angry band, but the track which slaps the hardest is (ironically) “Slow Dance”. Our most reflective song is PJ Lovers simply because it was our first track and video and we appreciate the silly concept behind it.
Was it a difficult song to write?
Jimmy – musically it was kind of because the chords have a very emotional/sad sound to them so creating the heavy and ‘bop’ contrast to offset it was a bit of a challenge (thank God for dance synths haha). Lyrically, it’s never a challenge because PJ allows you to put anything and everything into the words and ensure that the track remains catchy and fun regardless of the music.
Who designed the single artwork?
Chris: Jimmy is pretty good on a laptop so he creates the artwork for our singles. There’s normally a few versions which get sent around and we all give feedback and make changes until we feel it fits.
Do the single title have any significance/special meaning?
Joey: The title is significant because it describes what is happening in the song & video as you’re hearing it. It’s like a film title – it creates the theme throughout the whole thing! There’s no special meaning behind it, it was added after the lyrics were written and just kind of summarises the whole track and feelings/vibes it gives.
The track is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it?
Jimmy – the idea behind the music video was to re-create one of those environments where you meet/crush on someone at a gig or event. We wanted to highlight the awkwardness we know so many people have experienced and the laughter and butterflies that comes with it. I kind of produced a rough script then passed it over to the pros to execute… We are super lucky to work with Shaun Hodson of Loki films who creates all of our videos. Slow Dance took a lot of direction with so many people there on the day so we’re also really lucky to have Dean Addison on the team as our on-set director as well.
Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
Jonah: We are primarily based in the South East near Reading and London both of which are well known for their heavy music scenes. We would describe our area as busy, vibey, loud, smokey and contemporary – just like our music!
How do you look after your voices?
Joey – I’ve only just started really looking after my voice more as the band has got more successful and serious because I had some bad habits like vaping and smoking and I didn’t practice/rehearse as much as I probably should. Now I’ve built a makeshift vocal booth to regularly rehearse in and quiet the vapes so my voice is getting better and stronger every week. Me and Jimmy make sure we warm up every time we do sing and we’ve got all sorts of goodies to help make sure we are taking care of our voices at the end of the day.
Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2025/2026?
Chris: We currently have 2 UK dates in for 2026 – our DEBUT headline show at the Blackheart in Camden on 10 Jan, followed by Hammerdown Festival in the summer. We will be focussing on quality over quantity of shows this year so don’t miss out.
What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?
Jimmy – Sweat and happiness. If we leave fans who have either moved, smiled, sang, danced, bopped, laughed then we have completed our mission. This music is designed to make people move and it’s meant to be upbeat and fun… we hope people needing a night to cut loose will get everything they need at a PJ show… and more!!!
Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?
Joey: So I guess I am my instrument – like, I have a microphone, I have the one with red tape and Jimmy has blue – 1 so we don’t catch each other’s diseases, but also coz I used to wanna be the red power ranger so even though red as a colour sucks, it was the only tape we had at the time so I went to the red ranger in my mind to make the best out of a bad situation (green would have been my go to). I know the guys have all kinds of pedals and exciting looking technology which have lots of cables coming out of it but that’s none of my business, though I do love how well organised it is with all the cases and our names on everything and colour coded and I’m so glad they know what they’re doing cause I sure don’t haha!
You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?
Jonah: That’s a difficult question! Our songs are short and explosive (like Joe) with a lot going on, so I think they would lend themselves well to graphic novels or manga. Ideally we could love to score a project like a crazy manga, such as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure or a graphic novel like Batman: Three Jokers.
Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?
Adam: We have lots of different influences from lots of genres. Between us we all like lots of different things but have a shared love for metal. We love the European electronicore scene so the likes of Callboy as well as WBTBWB, Samurai Pizza Cats etc. If you don’t know, go check them out.
Do you have any further new music releases planned for 2026?
Chris: There’s loads on the way in 2026… starting in Jan. New singles, an album, gigs and videos. So keep your eyes on our socials for the new releases and announcements…
What makes Premier Jester happy and what makes you unhappy?
Jimmy – OUR FANNNNSSSS!!!! The comments, messages, views, streams and feedback from the people who love our music is what makes us happy! We can’t wait to perform for these beautiful people and share the dancefloor with them. What makes us unhappy? Not a lot really… even our ‘worst’ moments as a band we’ve laughed during. When you’ve got great guys and a great team around you nothing is a big deal lol
