From Rolling Stone · Will Richards · · 1m 40s
Madra Salach's Hunger Album
Madra Salach's debut album Gorta explores inherited trauma through Irish folklore and punk energy.
In brief
Madra Salach's debut album Gorta explores inherited trauma through Irish folklore and punk energy. Madra Salach's album Gorta uses Irish folklore to examine inherited trauma and modern Irish identity. Originally reported by Rolling Stone.
Album Artwork
The artwork for Madra Salach's debut album Gorta depicts a face in distress with beams of light pouring into its open mouth.
“The artwork for Madra Salach ’s debut album, Gorta, is equal parts gorgeous and troubling”
Mythological Inspiration
The art draws from Irish Sheela na gigs and headless Blemmyes mythology to symbolize hunger and disintegration.
“The art’s inspiration is an amalgam of two dark and somewhat disturbing mythological creatures”
Artist Vision
Paul Banks wanted the artwork to show 'hungry eyes' and a 'wild, desperate expression' for the album's hunger theme.
“Paul Banks, singer of the fast-rising Dublin folk band, wanted Torrans’ artwork to portray a figure with 'hungry eyes' and a 'wild, desperate expression'”
Album Title Meaning
Gorta translates from Irish as 'hunger' or 'famine', referencing the Fear Gorta, the Man of Hunger.
“Gorta, the album’s title, translates from Irish as 'hunger' or 'famine'”
Inherited Trauma
The album explores inherited trauma through the lens of the 'haunted isle of green' and modern Irish identity.
“Across their stunning debut full-length album, Madra Salach take the idea of a gut feeling to new extremes”
Ireland's Music Scene
Ireland has been a major source of influential music for the British Isles over the past decade.
“FOR A DECADE NOW, much of the best music made on the British Isles has been coming from Ireland”
Band's Musical Style
Madra Salach blend punk energy with traditional Irish instruments for a unique sound that defies folk conventions.
“The way that we play is a bit more uninhibited, because you’re not thinking about the rules of traditional Irish music”
Key Song Analysis
Their punky version of 'Tunnel Tigers' honors Irish workers who dug London's Victoria Line tunnels.
“Written by the Salford-born MacColl — father of the late Kirsty MacColl — to soundtrack a BBC documentary about the Irish workers”
Modern Folk Ethos
Banks believes folk songs should feel alive and relevant, not like 'playacting or a bit renaissance fair'.
“If you’re writing folk music in the 21st century and try to make it sound like an old song and use words that you wouldn’t normally use, it sounds like playacting or a bit renaissance fair”
Thematic Depth
The album examines both historical famine trauma and modern yearning through songs like 'Searrach' and 'Haunted Isle of Green'.
“On 'Searrach' (a young horse), our narrator is 'full but I’m craving', while on 'Haunted Isle of Green' he is 'hungry no more' yet 'cannot shake off what I’ve seen'”
Artist Perspective
Banks aims to capture what a 21st-century Irish person feels through the album's exploration of hunger and identity.
“One of the goals of the album thematically is to paint a picture. What is a 21st-century Irish person like?”
The one thing
Madra Salach's album Gorta uses Irish folklore to examine inherited trauma and modern Irish identity.
