Choir Of Young Believers is a new Danish act, with great international potential. The man behind this band is the 24 year old, Danish, Greek and Indonesian Jannis Noya Makrigiannis. For many years, Jannis has moved in the underground circles of the Danish indie scene and been a part of the legendary band, Lake Placid. Since 2006 he has been working on his solo material, which has now resulted in the debut EP from Choir Of Young believers, called "Burn The Flag".

The songs for the EP were written in Berlin, Copenhagen and in a small town on the Greek island Samos, where Jannis lived for a while. The acoustic demos has then been evolved and arranged with producer Anders Rhedin, who has played a big part in creating the unique sound on the EP. Musically, Choir Of Young Believers is located somewhere between low key folk and grandiose indie pop, ambitiously combining a cool Nordic distance with a true presence and vitality.

In spite of his young age, Jannis writes mature intelligent songs. The melodies are simple and beautiful while the arrangements surprises and overwhelms the listener. There are references to Roy Orbinson, The Beach Boys, Pixies and Hank Williams, but Choir Of Young Believers stands out as a bright example of alternative pop music with depth and quality.

Live, Choir of Young believers can take many different shapes and sizes. Sometimes it is a solo performance with guitar or piano and other times you will see up to eight people on stage, including strings and percussion. You never know what you will get, apart from the beautiful voice and cool presence that Jannis always delivers.

Choir Of Young Believers is signed to Danish label Tigerspring, who in May 2007 released "Burn The Flag" nationally, to great reviews. The EP went straight to nr. 4 on the single chart in Denmark. The single "Sharpen Your Knife" was pick of the week on the biggest national radio station and also spent a maximum eight weeks at no. 1 of the national indie chart. Choir Of Young Believers performed at Roskilde Festival, before going on a national tour in the fall of 2007. In early 2008 COYB won two major awards in Denmark as "talent of the year" and "hope of the year", so there are great expectations for the first full length album, which will be recorded during the spring and released in September 2008.

Arms is the moniker of Todd Goldstein, better-known for being the guitarist of the now defunct Brooklyn-based band Harlem Shakes. Arms' full-length debut, Kids Aflame, was originally given an UK-only release in 2008 and was later re-released in the US on October 27th, 2009.

Arms first started taking shape in 2004 but made its first official release with Shitty Little Disco, an EP self-released in 2006. The debut album was recorded over a period of three years, where Goldstein pieced together the record with a single microphone and a laptop in a series of rickety bedroom recording spaces, giving the record a lo-fi atmosphere that combine noise, the primacy of melody, and the timelessness of melancholy pop music.

More info:
http://www.armsarms.com/
http://www.myspace.com/armsongs

From Minnesota via Los Angeles and now based in Chicago, twenty-three year old Anni is an exciting prospect. Having been classically trained since aged three, Anni is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and has been performing as a solo artist for the past few years.

Fresh from signing to the label, Anni headed straight to Electrical Audio in Illinois to record Rockwell with Steve Albini and the results show it to have been a wise move. Mostly using tracks from her existing set ('Machine', 'Ecology', 'Wheelpusher'), the energy, depth and eccentricities of her live show have all been successfully translated onto record; something she feels she has never achieved previously, making the document she set to make.

Until now, the viola has formed the centerpiece to her music, often finding itself to be the only instrument used, but more come to the fore here. In particular, drums and cello slightly elevate her sound, appearing occasionally to fill in corners. The fact it was all recorded in one day (July 13th 2008) will surprise most but so will the unlikely cover version of Ace of Base's 'Living Danger', a version so sublime you wouldn't know what it was unless told.

Anni has already extensively toured both Europe and the US (including support slots with The Ting Tings and Electrelane as well as being a member of Carla Bozulich's band) and has gained herself both a great reputation and hardcore fanbase.