Malian desert blues punk band Songhoy Blues were brought to the world’s attention in the excellent documentary They Will Have To Kill Us First, which highlighted the struggle faced by musicians after the north of the country was captured by Jihadi extremists who outlawed all forms of music. They’ve since released an album, Music In Exile, collaborated with The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner, toured the US and have just completed a series of live dates around the UK. Joyzine’s Rupert Hitchcox was there to catch the action at the final date at London’s Koko.
Photography by Rupert Hitchcox
songhoy-blues.com
ruperthitchcox.com