The Brüknahm Project / The Bruknahm Project

This 2002 release signifies the creation of veteran music producers Saundi Wilson and Sebastian Bardin. The title of this project alludes to a mid-'80s colloquialism founded upon an existential relationship between Brooklyn, NY, and Vietnam. Overall, the various musicians convey a streetwise vibe, while the material presented herein is a juxtaposition of spoken dialogue, rap, dub, electronica, and Indian diva-style vocalese. Essentially, this outing gets off to a rather sluggish and somewhat superfluous start. However, the musicians occasionally pursue memorable melodies via keyboard-based digital patches, catchy hooks, jazzy soloing, and ethereal background treatments. Much of this production suffers from a fair amount of tinkering and fragmented notions atop groove-laden beats, as the evolutionary progression rings more like a loosely based experiment. Hence, there are some wonderfully arranged pieces, but the majority of these selections fail to sustain any long-term interest.