Jason Savio

When you first see Patrick Murphy, founding member and leader of the Oracle, you may think it’s Halloween, or you may just feel flat out uncomfortable. Cloaked in a black robe with his face painted white, Murphy makes his presence known. But it’s not necessarily meant to scare anyone; instead, it’s an extension of the music he plays, and the message behind it. 

“A big theme of the Oracle is isolation and being alone,” says Murphy. “Bleak and somber themes are big things that I’m trying to get out, and meditation as well. My goal is to make music that you can meditate to or feel.” 

Murphy compares the listening experience one has with his music as a “ritual,” and cites Norwegian black metal of the early ‘90s as an influence. 

Painted in black on his forehead, Murphy wears the Algiz rune that means “protection and shelter,” what he says correlates to his message of isolation and “keeping everyone at bay.”

A Douglas native, Murphy, 33, moved to Worcester in 2014. It was around that time he started what would become the Oracle. The project has featured different collaborators over the years with Murphy continuously leading the way.

“I don’t play guitar so I have other people come in to help me with things that I can’t do on my own,” says Murphy, who plays keyboard and synths in the Oracle. He’s also the current drummer in Mountain Man. 

On the Oracle’s latest release, Hypogeum, Murphy teamed up with producer Zach Weeks to create a collection of dark ambient songs filled with electronic drones and looming waves. 

“The way I write songs isn’t your typical verse/chorus/verse kind of thing,” he says. Because Murphy uses a lot of analog synths on the record, he says it’s hard to recreate the same sounds when he performs live. “Each time you come to see us play and hear our songs, you’re never going to hear what it sounds like on the record. It’s just more of like a sonic exploration every time.” 

Performance art is a big inspiration for the Oracle’s live shows. A recent performance he posted on YouTube, titled “The Mass of the Oracle,” features Murphy sitting stoically while surrounded by keyboards as a projector emits visuals on the wall behind him to go along with the music. A picture of Marshall Applewhite, founder of UFO religious cult Heaven’s Gate, is one of the images that is shown.

“I wanted it to sort of be more—without sounding pretentious—like a religious experience, and not just (me) sitting there and (the audience) watching me press buttons on a keyboard,” says Murphy, who was raised Catholic but no longer considers himself one. “I want people to take something, maybe even spiritual, away from it.”

The album title itself is steeped in mystery, named after subterranean structure discovered in Paola, Malta, that is believed to be linked to ancient spiritual practices.

Spirituality plays a big part on Hypogeum as Murphy ponders the role of what he calls “cults and their messiahs.”

“The theme of the record can loosely be compared to Jesus (and) how he created followers and people turned against him and eventually killed him,” Murphy says. “There are a lot of similarities between that and other cults, like Heaven’s Gate. It follows a similar trajectory (of) people believing in a messiah or a profit.” 

With Hypogeum, Murphy is taking a look at what makes people believe in others who refer to themselves as “a chosen person.”

“All religions fascinate me a lot and I think that’s another reason why I started the Oracle as a way to kind of channel that,” he says.

“The Mass of the Oracle” performance was recorded in September, but Murphy doesn’t currently have any plans for more video recordings or live streams, although he says it’s not out of the question.

“It’s an undertaking performing Oracle stuff live, so I really have to prepare for it,” he says.

To listen to the Oracle, visit: theoraclema.bandcamp.com/album/hypogeum