Jason Savio

Worcester’s The Oracle is making a splash and gaining quite the following. The Oracle (one-man band Patrick Murphy), is unlike most other Worcester musicians and puts on unique shows with music that is both dark and enlightening. He released his full-length record, Hypogeum, in 2020, and since then he has been spreading his sound by collaborating with musicians from overseas on a growing list of different projects. 

“I’ve got a lot going on,” Murphy says. “I’m really excited about it.”

He sure has a lot to be excited about. The success of Hypogeum has opened up many doors for Murphy and he’s making the most of it. In April he and Italian artist Ghost Gardener teamed up on a split release entitled The Oracle of the Ghost Gardener that features an individual song from each of them. The Oracle’s contribution, “Visions of Fatima,” is haunting and hypnotic, in true Oracle fashion. 

Murphy followed “Visions of Fatima ” up with “Eternal Recurrence” in July, his song featured on Four Winds of Revelation, a four-way split with UK bands Spider God, Revenant Marquee, and The Sun’s Journey Through the Night. Another split is in the works as well, with Greek band Mnima and American groups Klanen and Celestial Sword.

Murphy’s connection to these foreign artists comes through Repose Records, the label that released Hypogeum. Murphy says the musicians in the UK he is working with–who have also released music on Repose–reached out to him. Murphy got in touch with Ghost Gardener himself after hearing his demo and being “really into it.” 

“I’m not a black metal artist but I certainly have those influences and I take a lot from that scene. The whole black metal scene sort of started out there, most notably in Norway with the stuff in the early 90s, so the metal community—not just black metal—is huge out in Europe,” Murphy explains. “Right now there are a lot of good black metal projects coming out of there, so I’m fortunate that I got in touch and lumped in with that scene, because it’s filled with some bands that I’m really into and really enjoy.”

If you’re not familiar with The Oracle, you might be taken aback at first by Murphy’s appearance. Dressed in a black robe with an Algiz rune painted on his face, Murphy is completely dedicated to his ongoing project he started in 2014, both visually and sonically. His songs are ambient electronic soundscapes that paint pictures of dark secrets and surprising affirmations. 

When asked what he’s thinking about when he’s writing his songs, Murphy says that he’s visualizing his favorite movies in his head. Blade Runner is “probably the biggest film inspiration” for him, as well as the works of David Lynch. Murphy also points to the seven-hour film Satantango as a movie he sees comparable to his own work.

“It’s kind of daunting to watch and I like to add that element to my music,” he says. “You really need to be committed to sit down and watch a seven-hour movie, and that’s kind of how I feel about my music as well.”

Although there are no lyrics to Murphy’s music, there are indeed stories behind the notes. Religion played a big part on Hypogeum and continues to do so with “Visions of Fatima,” which is about three children in the early 1900s who claimed to have been visited by the Virgin Mary and delivered three prophecies. “Eternal Recurrence” is based off the movie The Sacrifice and is about the idea of life starting over and repeating itself exactly the same way after you die.

The success of Hypogeum has garnered Murphy praise from other artists as well, including a Youtube mention from Mayhem guitarist Teloch, “one of the most notorious bands in black metal,” according to Murphy. 

Murphy says that Hypogeum continues to receive a “really positive and overwhelming response.”

“I’m really blown away by it, honestly,” he says. 

But Murphy has no plans to bask in his success and slow down.

In the fall he’s going to release a music video for “Visions of Fatima” and he has also been busy with a lot of drumming work, playing on all the tracks for Spider God’s upcoming album. Spider God would email Murphy the songs to perform on and Murphy would send them back to Spider God with the drums added.

“It has been cool to still collaborate and work on projects with people I don’t normally work with,” Murphy says. “It’s an opportunity to collaborate and be creative even (if) the circumstances aren’t so great right now (because of COVID).”

Murphy has also recorded three new songs under the Oracle banner for a yet-to-be-announced project, and this winter he is going to turn his attention to working on his biggest release yet: the full-length follow up to Hypogeum.

“That’s the next step,” he says. “I’m just trying to keep going.”

For more, visit: theoraclema.bandcamp.com/