Bounaly (né Ali Traore) is from Niafounke, a city in renowned for its music, and birthplace of Ali Farka Touré. Bounaly grew up in a musical family surrounded by guitar music, building his own guitar as a child, before adopting a real one. He was forced to leave home in 2012 during the rebellion, and is now based in Bamako, playing solo guitar in the group Espoir de Niafounké.
Artist biography from Discogs