Choir Of Young Believers’ Jannis Noya Makrigiannis dies aged 39

5 January, 2023

Jannis Noya Makrigiannis

Jannis Noya Makrigiannis, the founder and frontman of Copenhagen-based Choir Of Young Believers, has died at the age of 39.

The musician’s death was confirmed by the band’s label Ghostly International, who posted in a statement that he had died late last year following a brief illness.

“We mourn the loss of Jannis Noya Makrigiannis who passed away just before New Year’s Eve after a short period of illness,” they wrote.

“We heard Choir Of Young Believers in 2008 and quickly fell in love, re-releasing the debut album, ‘This Is for the White in Your Eyes’, the following year after their performance at the 2009 SXSW festival. We enjoyed a fluid working relationship and experienced many memorable shows and tours together.”

Makrigiannis started his career in the Copenhagen music scene, with bands such as Lake Placid. His Choir Of Young Believers alias, which included his solo material as well as a rotating cast of musicians, was launched in 2008 with the debut album ‘This Is For The White In Your Eyes’.

The album was originally released via Tigerspring and then given broader distribution by Ghostly the following year. The band’s track ‘Hollow Talk’, received international success after being used in the credits of the Danish–Swedish police series The Bridge.

Three more albums followed ‘This Is For The White In Your Eyes’, with the most recent album ‘Holy Smoke’ released in 2022.

Ghostly continued in the statement: “Jannis was a gentle, kind soul, always appreciative of our team helping him to share his art with the world. He always put art first in his process, and as a result, Jannis was often far ahead of the cultural curve. His music only seems to get better with time.”

See tributes to the musician below.

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