Songhoy Blues is the story of Oumar, Aliou and Garba Toure, three young musicians from the northern Gao region of Mali. Even though all three share the same family name, there is no question of any blood relationship however. Fleeing the atrocities committed by the Islamic fundamentalists of Ansar Dine, who, in 2012, occupied large parts of northern Mali, the trio ended up in the capital Bamako where they met drummer Nathaniel 'Nat' Dembele and drew the attention of Marc-Antoine Moreau, who was still looking for interesting young Malian bands to join the Africa Express project. Combine the album title with the name of the band and you have the whole story behind Songhoy Blues in a nutshell. Songhoy Blues serves danceable guitar-driven music occasionally hinting at the repertoire of Tuareg bands like Tinariwen or Terakaft but, of course, also evoking memories of the work of desert blues-pioneer Ali Farka Toure.