The Songhoy Blues origin story is one for the ages, and it set the Malian quartet on a creative and spiritual trajectory that they continue on today.
The story begins with exile from Timbuktu after jihadis take the country’s north, imposing Sharia law. The refugee musicians are then introduced in Bamako, Mali’s capital, and play a wedding. Guitarist Garba Touré laughs at the memory. “No rehearsal!” he says. “We had just met that day, me, Aliou [Touré, vocals] and Oumar [Touré, drums]. It was the explosion, because to this day people talk about that performance.”