The unique and primal sound of Desert Blues from the musicians of Mali and nomadic tribes of the Sahara is less an offshoot of "the blues" as closer to its original root before the music was filtered through the African slave experience, through the Delta, and permeated American culture. This music is a modern interpretation of that ancient music, lovingly crafted by African musicians since the '70s, including some highly prominent and now-famous musicians including Ali Farka Toure, who once said, "The guys in Mississippi are playing American-Malian music, not the other way around."