evripidis and his tragedies
Evripidis and his Tragedies began as a personal musical project of Evripidis Sabatis , a classically trained pianist and illustrator, while playing his piano and singing back in Athens. His heart led him to Barcelona where he started doing concerts alone, mostly in seedy bars. Very soon he discovered that some of his friends, already members of other groups of the vibrant Barcelonan indie scene, were really talented and fun to play with. Whether it was destiny that they gravitated to the project or that he invited them to join, the resulting symphony of groundbreaking ideas began making the perfect soundtrack to life in the city.
The ever evolving dynamic nature of the project takes many forms depending on the venue, the circumstances and the way the planets align or the wind blows, Evripidis and his Tragedies is a one-man show or a crowded bonanza that has performed in a kaleidoscope of different places, from small bars to nightclubs, art galleries to boutiques, international festivals (Barcelona´s Primavera Sound, Primavera Club, Faraday and Placa Odiseea, Athen´s Synch, Majorca´s Petit Comitée) to abandoned flats, theatres to rooftops, record stores to fashion shows. This heartfelt project has been warmly welcomed in Barcelona, Madrid, Athens, Paris, Berlin, London, New York, and many other cities.
Evripidis and his Tragedies’ music is piano driven pop, sometimes sunny and sometimes dark, filed with vocal harmonies, violin and sax arrangements as well as various other instruments. The question on everyone’s lips is; What type of music is it? Influenced by artists as diverse as The Beach Boys, the 60´s girl groups lke the Shirelles and the Shangri-Las, Jonathan Richman , Belle & Sebastian, The Magnetic Fields, Scott Walker, Kate Bush or JS.Bach to name a few as is often the case, this project escapes definition. The lyrics reflect sometimes a dark humor or a hopeless romanticism with such recurring themes as lovers who drift apart, tidal waves, teeth that fall out, unrequited love, drunken nights, commercial suicides, dirty pavements, sleepovers on the floor, french kisses, long and lazy summer holidays in the Greek islands, funny sex in tents , promiscuity, scary nights, ghosts, memorabilia, early dawning and Sunday mornings, memories of love and invitations to teenage parties but mostly all that is no longer here and leaves just a scar. A melancholy love affair where romanticism never died, where harmony is created with a intelligent view on contemporary life, for winners and losers, victims and victors, heroes and villains.
Evripidis and his Tragedies have released a full length LP (as well as various unreleased songs, art movies´soundtracks and music videos that can be found on the internet) with the second LP well on the way called “A Healthy Dose Of Pain”. A tour de force of musical excellence made with passion by those friends who have been collaborating for the last 5 years and a healthy dose of new collaborators in keeping with the ethos of this project. So, expect full vocal harmonies, hypercinetic piano and thundering drumbeats, and then lavish in richly textured arrangements and haunting melodies, wonderfully original and expertly composed.
