Mali's Songhoy Blues Shares New Music and a Message of Hope by KEXP

Some in the KEXP community may be familiar with the band Songhoy Blues as they have performed live on KEXP twice and have received a fair amount of airplay. They have just released a jaw-dropping new single, "Worry," in anticipation of a new, yet unnamed album, to be released sometime this year. If you are not familiar with this Mali band, their story is one of the most harrowing, yet hopeful, in music today. They met in Bamako, in the Southwest region of Mail after fleeing Timbuktu when extremists took over their home and banned radio broadcasts, alcohol, and music.

Not only did this not stop the group, but it empowered them to band together and infuse the traditional sounds of their country with western rock and roll to create something unique, vibrant, important. KEXP's Owen Murphy caught up with the band's singer in Mali via Skype.