The Guardian shares new documentary on Mali music scene

05 March 2015, 14:15 | Written by Laurence Day

(News)

(Yeah Yeah Yeahs) (Nick Zinner) (Songhoy Blues)

The Guardian have unveiled a new short documentary called There's No Life Without Music, based on the music of Mali since its banning by Islamist militants in 2012.

The film accompanies a feature-length documentary called They Will Have To Kill Us First - more information about that can be found here.

It's a powerful 13-minute piece. It features music by Songhoy Blues, Khaira Arby, Vieux Farka Touré and Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs). The blurb, explaining the film, can be found below:

"All music was banned in northern Mali in 2012 by Islamist militants. But musicians such as Khaira Arby refused to accept it. The last two years have seen a collective of musicians taking Mali's rich musical heritage on a grand Caravan of Peace – an offshoot of Mali's famous Festival in the Desert. Created to celebrate Music Freedom Day, this short film is a companion to the feature length documentary They Will Have to Kill us First. Can the musicians of Mali rescue their music in exile?"

Malian band Songhoy Blues, have since made their debut album Music In Exile, which is out now on Transgressive. You can read our 8/10 review of the LP here.

Watch the short film below.