Originating from Athens, Evripidis Sabatis landed in Barcelona only two years ago, but in no time he was dazz-ling the local scene with his solo concerts. Prolific as Sufjan Stevens, his capacity to compose is nourished by years of music studies. Fourteen years studying piano, chamber music studies and a soloist graduate, Evripidis has a superlative imagination and wide-range of influences. From The Magnetic Fields to Beach Boys, Phil Spector and Red Bird sound, The Velvet Underground, Scott Walker, Nico, Kate Bush, Nick Drake, Belle and Sebastian, Sarah Record’s bands and 50’s doo wop. But it was his passion for vocals chorus in all their forms (60's pop, church chorus and baroque music) that turned Evripidis music into a much more ambitious project. Marisol (Eleva, Elevator), Nora González, Odil and Annie (How dare you) were recruited for doo-wop duites, while violinist Cristina de Sola, bassist Aleix Clavera (Extraperlo), and drummer Jaume Ribell (Epic Kind) build upon Evripidis' songs to create a formation in which each component shines individually and collectively. This is the first sign that Evripidis and His Tragedies are a truly unique band and have developed their own style. In Evripidis' song writing there is space for pre-Beatles pop as heard on "Ru Ru I'd love to…", to the sinister and grotesque "Transylvania, Some nights are sleepless" and "Cause I shall rise again", the picaresque cabaret "Red is the sky above the harbour" and romanticism "I want to be there”, “Long-Lasting Lovers” or “Straydog" and also singles as "It's June Again!” and “Gregory (we're coming out in the light)". Conceptually, Evripidis use polarity (reality and fantasy, romanticism and sexual tension, self-parody and idealisation,catastrophe and comedy) to create a work guided by humour and his flirtation with daily tragicomedies. The result is an album that is personal, daring, original and ambitious.
