Transgressive Records will soon release the soundtrack for acclaimed documentary They Will Have To Kill Us First. The film captures the oppression of musicians in Mali by a radical-Islamic militia following the power shifts that occurred in the wake of the Northern Mali conflict.
It also follows the path of Timbuktu band and Transgressive Records signee Songhoy Blues. The original soundtrack was composed by Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and also includes music from the documentary including Bombino and Ali Farka Touré. It is set to be released on September 16, and above you can check out a video for the soundtrack’s opening song, ‘Gna Ta Ka Da’ by Nick Zinner and Amkoullel, made by the film’s director Johanna Schwartz.
The rise of Islamist groups implementing fundamentalist principles is told by the song’s lyrics and inserted TV news reports on the conflict. The video closes with a voice being broadcast by the radio stating: “We have informed all the radio station owners we don’t want Satan’s music.” With that, we are offered a powerful notion of music’s function as a means of resistance.
