Choir of Young Believers was the musical project of singer, writer and guitarist

Jannis Noya Makrigiannis Choir of Young Believers was the musical project of singer, writer and guitarist Jannis Noya Makrigiannis from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band, which consisted of Makrigiannis along with a rotating cast of supporting players, has had multiple No 1 ...

from

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark. The band, which consisted of Makrigiannis along with a rotating cast of supporting players, has had multiple No 1 hits in their home country of Denmark and was named the "Best New Act" at the 2009 Danish Music Awards. COYB’s music combines folk melodies, orchestral instrumentation, and dark lyrics.

History

After the breakup of his previous band, Lake Placid, in 2006, Makrigiannis moved to the Greek island of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

and began developing his own solo material. Upon his return to Copenhagen, Makrigiannis gathered musicians and friends to form Choir of Young Believers. The group released the EP ''Burn the Flag'' in 2007, with the single "Sharpen Your Knife" receiving heavy play on Danish Radio. In September 2008, the band released its first full length album, '' This Is for the White in Your Eyes'', which was nominated for six Danish Music Awards and won the "Best New Act" category. COYB performed at the 2009

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

music festival, after which it was signed to US label

Ghostly International Ghostly International is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by Samuel Valenti IV and currently headquartered in Brooklyn, New York City. Chief artists include Matthew Dear, Dabrye (a.k.a. Tadd Mullinix), Com Truise, Tycho, Gol ...

who released '' This Is for the White in Your Eyes'' in North America on 18 August 2009. The next album released was '' Rhine Gold'' in March 2012. The band's third studio album, '' Grasque'', was released on 19 February 2016. The song "Hollow Talk", from the debut album, was used over the opening and the closing credits of the Danish–Swedish police series ''

The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...

'' (2011, 2013, 2015, 2018). Makrigiannis died 30 December 2022 after a short period of illness.

Members

Current & Past members

* Jannis Noya Makrigiannis: vocals, guitar, piano, bass, keyboard, percussion (died 2022) * Cæcilie Trier: cello, backing vocals * Jakob Millung: bass * Bo Rande: brass instruments, keyboard, backing vocals * Sonja Labianca: piano * Lasse Herbst: percussion * Casper Henning Hansen: drums, percussion * Aske Zidore: guitar, production * Anders Rhedin: keyboard, drums, guitar, percussion, backing vocals (until 2008) * Mette Sand Hersoug: violin, flute, backing vocals (until 2008) * Fridolin Nordsø: bass, drums, percussion, trumpet, flute, keyboard, backing vocals (until 2008) * Nicolai Koch: piano (until 2008) * Frederik Nordsø: percussion (until 2008)

Discography

Studio albums

* 2008: '' This Is for the White in Your Eyes'' * 2012: '' Rhine Gold'' * 2016: '' Grasque'' * 2022: ''Holy Smoke''

EPs

* 2007: ''Burn the Flag (EP)'' * 2007: ''Choir vs. Evil (EP)''

Singles

* 2007: "Sharpen Your Knife" * 2009: "Action/Reaction" (Ghostly International) * 2009: "Next Summer" (Ghostly International) * 2014: "Hollow Talk" * 2015: "Face Melting" * 2015: "Jeg ser dig" * 2015: "Serious Lover"

Tracks featured

* 2009: "Ghostly Essentials: Avant-Pop One" (Ghostly International) * 2009: ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton ...

'', opening and end credits for series 6 episode 1 – "Hollow Talk" from the album " This Is for the White in Your Eyes" (Ghostly International) * 2009:"

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

", season 7 episode 3-"Hollow Talk" plays where Haley and Nathan are arguing * 2010: ''

Submarino ''Submarino'' is a 2010 Danish drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg, starring Jakob Cedergren and Peter Plaugborg. It is based on the 2007 novel ''Submarino'' by Jonas T. Bengtsson, and focuses on two brothers on the bottom of Danish society ...

'', Danish drama film directed by

Thomas Vinterberg Thomas Vinterberg (; born 19 May 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films ''The Celeb ...

* 2011: ''

'', theme and end credits – "Hollow Talk" * 2014: ''

Reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...

'', season 1 episode 18 – ''Hollow Talk'' plays at the end of the episode.

Reviews

Guardian review of Choir of Young Believers

NPR review of This Is for the White in Your Eyes

Sources

Choir of Young Believers Page at Ghostly International

Identity Theory Interview with Jannis Noya Makrigiannis

Choir of Young Believers on Iceland Airwaves

Choir of Young Believers on MySpace

References

External links

Choir of Young Believers
at MySpace
Choir of Young Believers
at

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

Choir of Young Believers
at

* * {{Authority control Danish musical groups