The basic foundations for this record are mostly jazzy improvisations. A small section of musical interconnections are provided by Alan Kushan’s santur-improvisations. Besides this, there are always several ethnic world elements (or the appearance of ethnic music instruments mostly, with on at least some track, a voice sample), provided by many guests, of which just some are related with world music, and seemingly also with the world music label Face Records, also based in Switzerland. There are throatvocals from Mongolia on some tracks, and there are other influences noticeable from Persian origin (a Derwish dance with spoken word piece), African, Caribbean (?), and even Swiss Alps !! –mixed with other contexts- (on “Cliché Alpum”), with some intertwining sub-genres (including a Jamaican (?) influence, referring to some sub-genre, sipping into the other improvisations), always fitting with the improvised and rather jazzy (??) approach. The album sounds as if it is composed as one large improvised (jazz) piece, with a few extra arrangements on it, but is recorded in various places and times. One of the most famous co-operators is Lars Hollmer on accordion, (even if it is only less than a minute long), with a droning improvisation mixed well into the Persian mode of santur and also some didgeridoo of the next track. “Canabeat” has some spoken word fragment of a child when writing something down on a board.
Even when this group is different, in some way they could fit well with their (German) neighbours Embryo, who more often invited ethical musicians to play with their rather “progressive” jazz-rock approach.
PS. I remember having heard and found the first, private, Schildpatt CD release (“Bunju”, 1986), as a long and slow improvisation. This newer, cooperative album however has many more elements, making it a convincing musical journey (from start to finish).