ninehertz

Supersonic Festival 2026 may have not been of the scale of previous editions, but its spirit shone brighter than ever. Workshops, films, sound baths, marketplaces, friends, beers and bands – I had a wonderful weekend there a few weeks ago.

The line-up had a large dark folk drone presence, the likes of Bong II, Milkweed and Greet all bringing their phenomenal mystical musical tales to the stage, but it was a new band, MMM who set the bar high as the opening musical act of the whole festival.

MMM are a three piece consisting of Elizabeth Still (Haress), Nick Jonah Davis and Gayle Brogan (Pefkin and Sonido Polifonico, for those of us lucky enough to attend their specially curated gigs in Sheffield). They travelled together to the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, to take inspiration from the Calanais Stones, a megalithic stone circle site.

Lunistice Alignments is the outcome of this spiritual pilgrimage, a beautiful record of ambient drones and field recordings. The instrumentation falls instinctively into line with the earthly sounds of the wind, water or bird song, an instant alignment with the gentle drone repetitions that grab hold of you just as quickly, as vocals offer a soothing whisper intertwined within.

Throbbing pulsations form the body of more than one track, whilst their spirit is to be found within the shimmering vibrations. It feels of the earth, a natural phenomenon of organic sound. There are nice if subtle variations between tracks, allowing you to take it in as one narrative or dip in and out as you please – Lunar Tempel for example going a shade darker as it battles against bristling winds, the ethereal vocals crying out to be heard from the clouds cast by almost Sunn -rayed drones.

As it closes with The Re-Gleam, where water can be heard lapping against a shore and a guitar adds to its corporeal sensation, its lazy calm washes over you for one final time. It does feel like a spiritual experience, an album of ambient drones that allow you to reset and refresh.