Choir of Young Believers

"Infectious, intimate melodic folk songs worthy of your ears"

Choir of Young Believers was indirectly recommended to me by Anika (from Anika In London) . She went to one of their gigs not too long ago, and the "choir" in their name caught my eye. I immediately fell in love with their melodic folk songs, which remind me in some way of the Fleet Foxes. They have the same harmonic folk pop songs with a hint to a churchchoir.

Choir Of Young Believers is a new Danish act, with great international potential. The man behind this band is the 24 year old, Danish, Greek and Indonesian Jannis Noya Makrigiannis. For many years, Jannis has moved in the underground circles of the Danish indie scene and been a part of the legendary band, Lake Placid. Since 2006 he has been working on his solo material, which has now resulted in the debut EP from Choir Of Young believers, called “Burn The Flag“. The songs for the EP were written in Berlin, Copenhagen and in a small town on the Greek island Samos, where Jannis lived for a while. Musically, Choir Of Young Believers is located somewhere between low key folk and grandiose indie pop, ambitiously combining a cool Nordic distance with a true presence and vitality. In spite of his young age, Jannis writes mature intelligent songs. The melodies are simple and beautiful while the arrangements surprises and overwhelms the listener. Live, Choir of Young believers can take many different shapes and sizes. Sometimes it is a solo performance with guitar or piano and other times you will see up to eight people on stage, including strings and percussion. You never know what you will get, apart from the beautiful voice and cool presence that Jannis always delivers. Choir Of Young Believers is signed to Danish label Tigerspring, who in May 2007 released “Burn The Flag” nationally, to great reviews. Choir Of Young Believers performed at Roskilde Festival, before going on a national tour in the fall of 2007. In early 2008 COYB won two major awards in Denmark as “talent of the year” and “hope of the year”. Their debut album "This is For The White in Your Eyes" was released last year.

@ Copenhagen, Denmark
♫ Indie, Folk, Pop
♥ Next Summer (mp3)
▸ Myspace