Choir of Young Believers

A conversation with Jannis Noya Makrigiannis

(August 2009)

Interview by Adam McKibbin

The world has become flat and technology has bridged continents to make us all neighbors, but, damn, sometimes it's still hard to make an international phone call.

Choir of Young Believers have won comparisons to Americana heroes like Fleet Foxes, but the Danish accent of singer/songwriter Jannis Noya Makrigiannis makes it clear that they come to us from afar: both famliar and exotic, with enough earnestness to pull off a sweeping style of orchstral pop that does not blush about its ambition to fill big rooms, nor pay attention to the "less is more" rule that tends to reign supreme in the indie world. One listen to COYB's debut, This Is for the White in Your Eyes, and it's clear that Makrigiannis has more in common with Coldplay that he does with many of his labelmates on Ghostly International, a fine indie that's best known for its electronic acts.

About that phone call: it never happened. Skype wasn't in the cards, either. Bedeviled by distance, we settled for communication the old-fashioned way: we e-mailed each other.

I watched a video on YouTube of you playing alongside a cellist in a
church. I saw another one shot in a rail yard. They were quite lovely – and made me wonder… what’s your favorite sort of live setting?

Hmmm, I don't know - but I like it when you get to play other places than rock venues.

What sort of a group do you take out on the road with you?

It changes; sometimes we play as a duo and sometimes we are seven people on stage. Of course, it also has something to do with economics; it's expensive to travel 7-8 people, so sometimes we have to downsize and this fall we will travel around as a four-piece. It is also really interesting musically to play with different setups. A month ago we played with a 50-piece symphony orchestra and actually played the same songs as we do when we play with the duo and the seven-piece. It is not like I prefer one way over the others; it's all just very exciting and keeps the songs alive.

There’s a very grand, sweeping feel to the album. Are the songs
generally conceived in those same terms – do they start off big? Or
do they start off stripped-down and then you build them up and build
them up?

The songs always start with me just singing and a guitar or piano,
and then we build on top of that. There has to be a core, the song
has to work also when it's totally stripped down to just one vocal and a
guitar. I don't like it when you hear a song and the arrangenents are
really beautiful and creative but that's really all there is; it's like
wrapping up an empty box really nice for a present.

Following up on that, the album seems to be one that would lend itself
well to licensing. Have you been approached for film and TV and
things like that? Are you interested in that world?

We are actually talking with a very cool and secret Danish film maker
who wants to use some of our music in a movie and that I am very proud
of. TV series I don't really have an opinion of - and commericals I would never, ever do!

Choir of Young Believers didn’t seem like an obvious fit for Ghostly. How did you find each other?

Good old MySpace and a photographer called Will Calcutt.

Do you feel like Fleet Foxes are kindred spirits, or do you think that frequent comparison is a little off the mark?

I think the thing is that we both like Neil Young.

What are some of your earliest musical memories?

My mom singing lullabies. Especiailly one called "Solen er så rød mor"
(The sun is so red, Mom).

Were you raised in a musical household, then?

Kind of - there was always a guitar around and my mother knows a
couple of Bob Dylan tunes which she sings once in a while. My grandfather was a musician and my grandma a painter, so it's not like playing music was something weird to do.

Who’s responsible for the artwork that graces the cover of the album
and your singles? It’s really striking.

It's my good friend Nis Bysted. He has a very cool band called Thulebasen, and an amazing record label called Escho - and besides all that he does a lot of visual art. Nis does all our artwork and I couldn't think of a better or more beautiful way to wrap our music.

Finally: Are there any plans to play shows in the States any time on
the horizon?

Yes, we are coming over to do about 10 shows in October, both the East and West Coast and then maybe Chicago as well. We are just so excited and can't wait! I have never been on the West Coast before.