What links Get In The Sea to Wanda Group to Shia LaBeouf to Bad Guys to x-ray vinyl printing to books about landscape to a day sweating at Berghain to Mad Max? Quietus staffers John Doran, Luke Turner, Laurie Tuffrey, Sophie Coletta, Christian Eede, Karl Smith and Mat Colegate have loved them, that's what. Our cultural highlights of the year so far are...
From lap steels gaining sentience to a rethinking of the folk compilation, via wax cylinder kantele ghosts, the return of a dub-folk favourite and a confluence of ancient ceremonial song and left-field techno, Patrick Clarke's guide to the artists pushing the boundaries of traditional music returns