Two years ago Anansy Cissé was forced to leave his home town, Tombouctou, due to the armed conflict that shook Northern Mali. Still, he continued to produce new music.

On his new album, “Mali Overdrive”, he brilliantly fuses local instruments (Ngoni, Sokou and Calabash) with Western influences. It’s an impressive longplayer which can be regarded as one of the best releases from the African continent so far in 2014.

You can follow Anansy Cissé on Facebook, or check out his label World Music Network on Soundcloud.