In October 1987, Ketama played five concerts in London, where they met Toumani Diabaté and musicologist and record producer Lucy Durán, who encouraged them to work together.
[1] After the group jammed with Diabaté, they performed together at a London club and agreed to record an album for Boyd's Hannibal label.
The album was well received as a successful fusion of different but related styles of music, but a follow-up was delayed for six years.
The core line-up which reunited for Songhai 2 in 1994 was essentially the same as for the first album, although by that time Soto was working as a solo artist rather than as a member of Ketama, and Thompson only featured on three of the tracks.
The album also featured bassist Javier Colina, and Malian musicians Kassemady (vocals), Kélétigui Diabaté (balafon), and Basekou Kouyate (ngoni).