Choir of Young Believers

Choir of Young Believers
Choir of Young Believers performing in 2015
Background information
Also known as	COYB
Origin	Copenhagen, Denmark
Genres	Chamber pop avant pop orchestral pop
Years active	2006–2022
Labels	Ghostly International Tigerspring Chess Club PonyRec art union
Past members	Jannis Noya Makrigiannis Jakob Millung Cæcilie Trier Lasse Herbst Casper Henning Hansen Bo Rande Sonja Labianca Aske Zidore Mette Sand Hersoug Fridolin Nordsø Nicolai Koch Frederik Nordsø Anders Rhedin

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 hits in their home country of Denmark and was named "Best New Act" at the 2009 Danish Music Awards. COYB's music combines folk melodies, orchestral instrumentation and dark lyrics.

History

After the 2006 breakup of his previous band, Lake Placid, Makrigiannis moved to the Greek island of Samos 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, and it was nominated for six Danish Music Awards and won the "Best New Act" category.

COYB performed at the 2009 SXSW music festival, after which it was signed to US label Ghostly International. They released This Is for the White in Your Eyes in North America on 18 August 2009. The next album, Rhine Gold, was released in March 2012. The band's third studio album, Grasque, was released on 19 February 2016.

The song "Hollow Talk" from the band's debut album was used over the opening and closing credits of the Danish-Swedish police television series The Bridge, which ran for four seasons between 2011 and 2018 and became a worldwide hit.

Makrigiannis died on 30 December 2022 after a short illness.

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

References

External links

• Choir of Young Believers at Ghostly International
• Identity Theory Interview with Jannis Noya Makrigiannis
• Choir of Young Believers on Iceland Airwaves
• Choir of Young Believers at MySpace
• Choir of Young Believers discography at Discogs
• Choir of Young Believers at IMDb