Township library hosting wilder/hall March 29

The music duo wilder/hall will be featured at the Bloomfield Township Public Library on Friday, March 29, at 7 p.m.

Founded by longtime collaborators Kaleigh Wilder and Ben Hall, wilder/hall creates “Afro-diasporic excavation” by finding new myth structures in and of Afro-American ritual music. The core instruments they use are the gyil, which Wilder plays, a gourd-resonated xylophone instrument native to Ghana's Upper West Region and a predecessor of the marimba. Hall plays the surdo, a Brazilian brass drum that he likened to an “analog acoustic 808.”

For their performance the pair will present a continuous set of interlocking rhythms, fluctuating tempos and melodies. Combined with their distinctly Afro-American sonic sensibilities, the duo reconstitutes pieces of these languages, collapses them, and in turn re-places ancestral understanding. Wilder/hall presents this music as an offering of joy.

“Kaleigh Wilder and Ben Hall have deep roots in Detroit and combine classical, jazz, and avant-garde to form their new sound,” said librarian Amanda Itria. “We look forward to hearing their unique sound perspective as part of our musical programming.”