DJ Moopie's Intriguingly Atmospheric Curated Collections and The Week's Best New Tracks

Hailing from Melbourne
Perfect for fans of the C86 compilation, Australian and New Zealand guitar pop, atmospheric pop
Newest project 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, has built a reputation for deeply absorbing musical journeys that can run the gamut from chilled-out soundscapes to driving drum and bass and beyond. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to issuing quirky and introspective pop experiments, from artists as disparate as London-based percussionist 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 spiritual follow-up to that compilation which also functions as a succinct overview to several excellent bands in the gentle pop sphere active today. 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. The duo Chateau, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, push into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, and the band Who Cares?, blend influences from Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from Bay Area indie fixtures the Reds, Pinks and Purples; minimalist Sydney group the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s almost certain to become well-loved and frequently referenced among connoisseurs of all things delicate and deeply felt.

The Top New Releases This Week

Flea – A Plea
A seldom-seen individual effort by the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, which is brilliantly accomplished: propulsive but exploratory soul-jazz where Flea pleads for harmony and affection. “I’m not being corny – this shit is real!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Having won this year’s best original score Oscar, you can imagine Blumberg winning the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song for this stunning Seyfried duet featured on the score for the film The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
This songwriter from Texas paints in every shade of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, in which minimal hints of piano and woodwind shade her exhausted letdown.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
One might readily envision the work of this Madrid cellist's dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music playing over scenes in Dune, thanks to its pounding percussion, piercing industrial noises, spooky vocal harmonies and end-times grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
The creative Austrian producer and singer collaborates with UK bass producer DJ Polo from Bristol for some slamming ghettotech: the drums could knock you flat yet the melody approaches dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
Included on the latest mixtape, Amnesia, British MC Jawnino rides varied cloud-rap beats courtesy of Surf Gang, and this is one of its peaks, Jawnino alert and locked in as he surveys the world of narcotics.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
With production by Ty Segall, this garage-rock-influenced track propels itself forward at a self-determined tempo, shifting from a runaway vehicle to the Austin-based artist's dazed reverie about how “my spirit is restored by the moon”.