Choir of Young Believers

In 2006 Lake Placid guitarist Jannis Noya Makrigiannis launched Denmark’s Choir of Young Believers initially as a solo effort, later depending on a shifting roster of players to realize the band’s sweeping, acoustic-centered indie pop. The Danish-Greek-Indonesian Makrigiannis first channeled his broad range of influences onto the group’s Tigerspring debut EP. Burn the Flag surfaced in 2007, climbed the Danish charts, and soon earned a nationwide reissue that drew strong critical notice. Tigerspring released the outfit’s first proper studio album, This Is for the White in Your Eyes, in 2008; it received six Danish Music Awards nominations and captured the Best New Act trophy. Choir of Young Believers signed a U.S. agreement with Ghostly International in 2009, allowing the label to issue the debut domestically before year’s end. The second long-player, Rhine Gold, followed in 2012 on Ghostly, with Grasque appearing on the same imprint in 2016. After a brief illness, Jannis Noya Makrigiannis died near the close of 2022; his representatives confirmed the news on January 5, 2023.