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Hailing from Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, AU/NZ jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Newest project 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, is celebrated for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that effortlessly shift between gelid ambient music to pulsating breakbeats and much more. He also runs A Colourful Storm – a remarkable DIY imprint that delivers far beyond its size when it comes to issuing endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, featuring a diverse roster including percussionist Valentina Magaletti, based in London, Troth, a bass-heavy duo from Hobart, and the prolific underground figure Simon Fisher Turner.

In 2017, the label released I Won’t Have to Think About You, an assortment of charming guitar-pop reminiscent of the C86 era. More recently, it has issued Going Back to Sleep, a record that acts as a companion piece which also functions as a succinct overview to several excellent bands in the gentle pop sphere active today. The Sydney group Daily Toll, their 2025 first record A Profound Non-Event being an overlooked treasure of the year, offer Time, a sprawling, seven-minute meditation featuring melodica and guitar. Chateau, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), venture into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, while the band Who Cares?, channel equal parts Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from Bay Area indie fixtures the Reds, Pinks and Purples; Sydney's minimalist outfit the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. It stands as a humble compilation that’s almost certain to become a beloved and regularly mentioned resource among connoisseurs of all things delicate and deeply felt.

The Top New Releases This Week

Flea – A Plea
A seldom-seen individual effort from the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, and a magnificently realised one: propulsive but exploratory soul-jazz where Flea pleads for peace and love. “I’m not being corny – this shit is real!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
After securing this year's Oscar for Best Original Score, you can imagine Blumberg winning the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song thanks to this remarkable collaboration with Amanda Seyfried taken from his soundtrack to The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
This songwriter from Texas captures the full spectrum of a sigh on this deeply gloomy comeback, where the slightest touches of piano and flute shade her exhausted letdown.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
It's not hard to picture the work of this Madrid cellist's gothic masterpiece with industrial shades playing over scenes in Dune, with its thundering drums, metallic shrieks, eerie chorals and cataclysmic majesty.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Austrian visionary Zora Jones joins forces with Bristolian UK bass producer DJ Polo for some slamming ghettotech: the beats are absolutely crushing yet the melody approaches dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
On new mixtape Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino flows over varied cloud-rap beats from Surf Gang, and this is one of its peaks, Jawnino sharp and fully engaged as he observes the world of narcotics.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
With production by Ty Segall, this song with a garage vibe chugs along entirely at its own pace, shifting from a runaway vehicle to the musician from Austin's dazed reverie about how “the moon gives me back my spirit”.