Within just three years, the four-piece group Songhoy Blues have gone from Malian refugees in spring 2012 to supporting for Damon Albarn at London's Royal Albert Hall and Alabama Shakes at NYC's Beacon Theatre. Their breakout began when producer Marc-Antoine spotted them at a Bamako (Mali) nightclub but the journey to that point is the more interesting story.

Vocalist Aliou Touré, guitarist Garba Touré and bassist Oumar Touré—all unrelated—met in the capital of Mali, Bamako, after fleeing from the country's northern part because of an Islamist militant invasion. Journeying 15 hours south to the country's capital, they then met drummer Nathanael Dembélé. While forced out of their home region, Songhoy Blues seek to remember the music of the Songhai, their home region. 

Their music certainly is in Songhai tradition, including lyrics sung in their native language and call-and-response sections, but it's combined with Western guitars and elements of funk. When they came through New York last month, we spoke with members of Songhoy Blues (through a translator) on their musical roots, who the songs are written for and what a Malian performance club is like.

Tell me about Songhoy Blues unique combination of local music and funk, rock and other Western music.

The music we are doing is music from the north. It's [our] own kind of music, traditional music that [we're] trying to modernize.

Did you listen to very much Western music growing up in Timbuktu, Mali?

[We] listened to a lot of music, many kinds of different things. [We] had good access to the internet and listened to the radio. [We] like people like Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Beyonce. [We] like modern music.

What was your relationship with Marc-Antoine Moreau and Nick Zinner like?

[We] first chose to work on one track and that was "Soubour." After that, [we] decided to set up a proper album… It was just to give a better frame to their music. 

You mostly write about your culture and the adversity that you've dealt with in Mali. What are you trying to communicate through your music?

Apart from the political issues that they are facing every day, they also talk about their history, unity… about their culture. Their culture is very important.

What are performance clubs in Mali like?

Clubs are cool in Bamako. Technically, it's not that good there but it's a very good audience… [we] love to play there. The thing is, in Mali, they play four hours time [in one show]. It's not a club as you can imagine in Europe or the States with the DJ playing vinyl and dance beats. [We] are doing the music, and [we] are playing for four hours.

These first few performances in Europe and the US have caught lots of press attention and your debut, Music in Exile, will even be released on Atlantic here in the US on 4/21. Who were the songs written for?

[We] try to talk to everybody. Not just to the Malian people. [We] want to spread [our] message to everyone… [we] want to talk about [our] culture but dedicate it to everyone.