A conversation with Choir of Young Believers
Courtesy of WILL CALCUTT
Choir of Young Believers is scheduled to perform at Spaceland. The band’s debut album is “This Is for the White in Your Eyes.”
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 20, 2009 10:05 p.m.
The word “choir” implies many voices, but Choir of Young Believers needs but one to guide it through poignant surges of harmonization.
Nominated for six categories at the Danish Music Awards and winning “Best New Act” in the band’s homeland, the ever-amorphous chorus fluctuates between two and eight members ““ with frontman Jannis Noya Makrigiannis leading on vocals ““ and instruments ranging from the standard indie guitar to classical pit instruments.
Before embarking on the band’s first American tour with a Los Angeles performance at Spaceland on Oct. 21, Makrigiannis spoke with the Daily Bruin’s Katie Meschke in an e-mail about venturing out on his own and the finer things in a musician’s life.
Making the band
For several years, Makrigiannis floated around through the indie scene in Copenhagen, strumming his guitar and lending his mournful voice to the band Lake Placid. In 2006, Lake Placid evaporated, leaving Makrigiannis at a temporary standstill.
“I had not been writing my own songs for a long time so when the old band broke up, I really felt like doing something on my own. I wanted to put myself in a creative situation, where I did not have to discuss every choice and seek compromises all the time.” In an effort to work independently, he packed up and moved to the Greek island Samos, where he developed new material and stumbled upon his future group’s powerful name. “The words came to me while I was walking in a forest. I guess I just liked the sound of the words and the way they look when you write them down.”
Creating the sound
The music Makrigiannis ended up creating is simple yet loaded. His airy voice is saturated with command that could only come from a repressed ardor within. Supporting his sorrowful keens is a blend between dark orchestra and pop, like a grief-stricken lover with a smile to show the world.
Part of the reason the songs come off so heavy is due to the amount of time the melodies spend stewing in his head. “Sometimes (the melody) just pops into my head, and I build the song from there. I don’t own a computer, so I normally don’t do demos. This means that a song can stay in my mind for many months, slowly developing from a small melody into a “˜real’ tune with arrangements and instrumentation.”
Choir of Young Believers’ new album, “This Is for the White in Your Eyes,” caught the attention of the Danish Music Awards (Denmark’s version of the Grammys), and with six nominations, Makrigiannis was confident in the running. “It felt good, of course. I knew that they would at least have to give me one, which they did.”
Touring America
Though Chorus of Young Believers has performed in America for events such as the South by Southwest Music Festival and a couple of gigs in New York, their tour ““ that began Oct. 18 ““ is the first one they’ve done as a full band and not just a duo.
“We are extremely excited, and we are really looking forward to meeting new people and seeing more of the country. I guess touring Europe can be more luxurious at times, especially for a band of our size. … That is good fun, but also pretty tough sometimes. I expect people and audiences to be more outgoing and friendly in the States.”
More reactive audiences aren’t the only perks for the indie rocker on the go. “Writing, recording, traveling, smoking, performing, … all of it. I get to do what I love the most and do it with some of my best friends. What more can you ask for in life?”
E-mail Meschke at [email protected].
