The album has been five years in the making and the first single was co-written with the late Eoin French.
The title for the record – Materia Medica comes from an ancient pharmacology textbook about healing plants. The album is released June 5th 2026.
“It’s a reference to the healing nature of music and my own journey in both the healing and creative arts,” says Loah, who is a qualified pharmacist in addition to her work as a musician and actor.
Of new song ‘Intimacy’, Loah says:
Intimacy is a song I co-wrote with my dear friend, the late Eoin French aka Talos Not only was Eoin a great friend, but an incredible artist. It is both surreal and wonderful that we still get fresh hits of beautiful sounds from him constantly from the far out dust. Frenchie is the busiest working musician on both sides of the veil!
Materia Medica draws on her friends and collaborators – it was co-produced with Brian Dillon (of Meltybrains? and The Line) and Daniel Forde. Also featuring are Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu, Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, her sister Fehdah, Gambian kora player Suntou Susso, harpist Allanah Thornbourgh, producer Ben Bix (Meltybrains?), drummer Dylan Lynch (Soda Blonde, Little Green Cars), and the Crash Ensemble amongst other musicians and producers, along with samples of 16th century lute music and Rachmaninoff to more contemporary sounds like 808 and Afrobeats.
Of the record, Loah says:
“The ambition was to create a hypermodern body of work that sonically exemplifies the changing definition of what Irishness is, what femininity is and indeed what musical ‘genre’ is and its flexibility in the modern context. We have many excellent producers and musicians on this album – it is a collage of sound!
One of the earliest themes was around musical identity, ancient and modern – there are instruments such as kora (the ancient African harp), lavta (an ancient Mediterranean lute-like instrument), samples from 16th century lute music, Rachmaninoff, as well as 808 and Afrobeats! Other themes emerged – modern Irish womanhood, love, bereavement, spirituality, all of which are explored through the lens of an individual raised in two cultures.
We are in a dynamic and challenging world full of uncertainty. I see any act of creation at this time as raising the hope for an enlightened and unified approach to how we run our nation, and indeed how we run our planet. It is within this stirring context that I endeavoured to fuse seemingly disparate sonic and cultural identities to state my first case in album form as a unique Irish creator.”
Buy on Bandcamp.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
