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Hailing from Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 indie pop sound, Antipodean jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Newest project Going Back to Sleep out now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, has built a reputation for captivating and eclectic DJ sets that effortlessly shift between gelid ambient music to driving drum and bass and beyond. He also runs A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that delivers far beyond its size when it comes to releasing endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, featuring a diverse roster including London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, Troth, a bass-heavy duo from Hobart, and the prolific underground figure Simon Fisher Turner.

Back in 2017, the imprint put out I Won’t Have to Think About You, a compilation of winsome, C86-ish indie pop. More recently, it has issued Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which simultaneously serves as a neatly drawn guide to several excellent bands in the gentle pop sphere making music now. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, with a 2025 debut, A Profound Non-Event, that stands as a hidden jewel from this year, present Time, a sprawling, seven-minute meditation featuring melodica and guitar. Chateau, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, venture into percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, while Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, draw equally from Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

On other parts of the compilation, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from Bay Area indie fixtures the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. It stands as a humble compilation that’s destined to be well-loved and frequently referenced with fans of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.

Fresh Tracks of the Week

Flea – A Plea
An uncommon single release from the RHCP bass player, and it is superbly executed: propulsive but exploratory soul-jazz where Flea pleads for peace and love. “This isn't cliché – it's genuine!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Following his Oscar win for Best Original Score this year, one could envision Blumberg earning the Best Original Song award in 2026 for this breathtaking duet with Seyfried taken from his soundtrack to The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
Jana Horn, an artist based in Texas paints in every shade of a sigh on this deeply gloomy comeback, as delicate traces of piano and woodwind shade her exhausted letdown.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
You could easily imagine this Madrid-based cellist’s dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music on the soundtrack to Dune, thanks to its pounding percussion, piercing industrial noises, haunting choral passages and end-times grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
The creative Austrian producer and singer teams up with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo on a track of hard-hitting ghettotech: the drums could knock you flat yet the melody approaches dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
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Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Helmed by Ty Segall, this garagey number chugs along entirely at its own pace, from runaway truck to the musician from Austin's dazed reverie about how “the moon gives me back my spirit”.