Songhoy Blues, a quartet from northern Mali, play ALICE in Copenhagen on Saturday 31 October. They are known for desert blues with shimmering guitar work and rock rhythms, a style that has been called "Timbuktu Punk". The band has been based in Bamako for more than a decade, because musicians in their home region risk their lives under religious extremism.
The band emerged in 2013 and became part of Damon Albarn's Africa Express project. Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs produced their debut album, Music in Exile (2015). They have played festivals including Roskilde and Glastonbury. Their new album, Héritage (2025), adds African instruments such as kora, soku, kamalengoni, flute, Senufo xylophone and calabash percussion to their rock sound, and explores tradition, migration and exile.
Ba Balance open the night. The Danish-Gambian duo of guitarist Preben Carlsen and percussionist Sal Dibba blends psychedelia, jazz and blues with African musical influences.