Exclusive: Rising Indie Artist Offers Poignant Reflection on Queer Addiction & Heartbreak

Hailing from Barcelona, Evripidis Sabatis delivers bittersweet pop melodies on his third album, Futile Games in Space and Time. But it's the haunting, atmospheric "Island" that particularly stands out. The song follows a man who wants to escape with his lover to an island where no problems exist. "Our island would float the middle of the ocean," Sabatis sings, "and no pain or fear could ever reach us."

"'Island' is about the idea of paradise, of a perfect--albeit imaginary and impossible to exist--place, situation, feeling," Sabatis tells Out. "It is a song about escapism that reflects my wistful nature and also my annual trips to the Greek islands, isolated patches of land that seem to flow freely, far away from mundane problems and the headaches of urban life. In 'Island,' love is a shelter, a comfortable and nurturing environment, a destination that keeps you protected from the exterior world, but also a dangerous lie that can crush one's heart and hope."

The music video, shot by Sabatis' long-time collaborator Jordi Estrada, shows a troubled pair wandering a debris-ridden city. "We see [a man] trapped in a bubble of melancholia and self annihilation, as he falls in love with a fantasy that never came to be," explains Estrada. "In this way the song and the video serve as points of reflection on escapism: Is it really ever possible and is it really ever right to rely on imaginary paradises for our well being?"

The couple drift further apart and deeper into addiction. Crisply edited and choreographed, "Islands" reveals the destruction of youth and things left behind.

Watch "Islands" below and find Futile Games in Space and Time on Spotfiy, Apple Music, Amazon, or Jigsaw Records.