DJ Moopie's Intriguingly Atmospheric Experimental Compilations along with The Week's Top Fresh Releases
Hailing from Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, Antipodean jangle-pop, Mess Esque
Newest project 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now
Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, is renowned for captivating and eclectic DJ sets that often traverse from gelid ambient music to driving drum and bass plus other genres. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – a remarkable DIY imprint that massively punches above its weight when it comes to putting out endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, featuring a diverse roster including the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, the dub-infused sounds of Hobart pair Troth, and the prolific underground figure Simon Fisher Turner.
The label's 2017 release was I Won’t Have to Think About You, a collection of delightful, C86-inspired indie pop. This year saw the release of Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which also functions as a carefully curated roadmap to some of the best twee-pop groups active today. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is one of the year’s underrated gems, contribute Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. The duo Chateau, comprising Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, explore rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, whereas the band Who Cares?, blend influences from the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.
In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s likely to grow into a beloved and regularly mentioned resource for aficionados of all things delicate and deeply felt.
The Top New Releases This Week
Flea – A Plea
A rare solo track from the RHCP bass player, and a magnificently realised one: rhythmically forward-moving but adventurous jazz-soul with Flea calling for harmony and affection. “No cheesiness here – this is the truth!”
Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Following his Oscar win for Best Original Score this year, you can imagine Blumberg winning the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song for this stunning Seyfried duet featured on the soundtrack he composed for The Testament of Ann Lee.
Jana Horn – All in Bet
The Texan songwriter captures the full spectrum of a sigh on this richly despondent return, where the slightest touches of piano and woodwind colour her weary disappointment.
Umor Rex – Lo Animal
You could easily imagine the work of this Madrid cellist's gothic masterpiece with industrial shades featured in a Dune soundtrack, with its thundering drums, screeching metallic sounds, eerie chorals and cataclysmic majesty.
Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist joins forces with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo to deliver pounding ghettotech: the percussion is overpowering but the melody is almost dream-pop.
Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
On new mixtape Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino rolls over an assortment of cloud-rap instrumentals by Surf Gang, with this song standing as a peak moment, Jawnino focused and in the zone as he observes the landscape of drug dealing.
Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Helmed by Ty Segall, this garagey number chugs along entirely at its own pace, from runaway truck to the Austin musician’s hazy daydream about how “the moon returns the spirit to me”.
