Madra Salach (Irish for ‘dirty dog’) are a Dublin six-piece dragging traditional Irish folk into darker, stranger and noisier territory. Emerging from the city’s indie scene, the band started out playing pubs, twisting old Irish tunes with ambient tape loops before writing songs of their own. Inspired by Ireland’s growing experimental folk scene, the group gradually added more members, instruments and electronics to the mix. Blending haunting melodies with droning electronics, distorted guitars and raw, punk-driven energy, their music shifts between intimate folk ballads and intense, experimental soundscapes.

Their debut album Gorta arrives January 15. Named after the Irish word for ‘hunger’, the record explores what we carry from past generations, what we leave behind, and the many forms hunger can take. Pushing their sound further into experimental territory, Madra Salach create something strikingly modern, yet strangely familiar.

Madra Salach | Website