Soubour

In 2012 the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad took control of northern Mali and were soon pushed out by Ansar Dine, a jihadist group that banned cigarettes, alcohol and music. Garba Touré, a guitarist from Diré near Timbuktu and the son of Ali Farka Touré's long-time percussionist, was forced to leave and moved south to the capital, Bamako. There he formed a band with Aliou Touré and Oumar Touré, three Songhoy men who share a surname but are not related, to recreate the lost atmosphere of the north and let other refugees hear the songs of home again. They named the band after their people and the music they played: Songhoy Blues. They worked the Bamako club circuit, drawing both Songhoy and Tuareg fans, and in September 2013 Africa Express, the travelling collective of American and European musicians led by Damon Albarn, came to town to record. The band auditioned, were paired with Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and recorded "Soubour", which means patience. It came out that December on the Africa Express compilation Maison Des Jeunes. Its success sent them back into the studio with Zinner for their debut album, Music in Exile, released in 2015 to wide acclaim, and onto stages from Glastonbury to Bonnaroo. The band also became one of the main subjects of the documentary They Will Have To Kill Us First. A song called patience, made by exiles from a region where music had been outlawed, turned out to be the start of their answer.