DJ Moopie's Charmingly Moody Curated Collections along with The Week's Top Fresh Releases
Hailing from Melbourne
Ideal listening for those who enjoy classic jangle-pop compilations, AU/NZ jangle-pop, atmospheric pop
Latest release The compilation 'Going Back to Sleep' is currently released
Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, has built a reputation for captivating and eclectic DJ sets that often traverse from icy, atmospheric ambience to pulsating breakbeats and beyond. He also runs A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to putting out endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, from artists as disparate as the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, the dub-infused sounds of Hobart pair Troth, and renowned underground polymath Simon Fisher Turner.
The label's 2017 release was 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 record that acts as a companion piece which doubles as a carefully curated roadmap 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 a hidden jewel from this year, contribute Time, a seven-minute daydream built on melodica and guitar. Chateau, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), push into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, blend influences from Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.
On other parts of the compilation, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; Sydney's minimalist outfit the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s destined to be a beloved and regularly mentioned resource among connoisseurs of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.
This Week’s Best New Tracks
Flea – A Plea
An uncommon single release from the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, and a magnificently realised one: propulsive but exploratory soul-jazz with Flea calling for peace and love. “No cheesiness here – this is the truth!”
Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Having won this year’s best original score Oscar, it's easy to picture Blumberg taking home the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song thanks to this remarkable collaboration with Amanda Seyfried included in the score for the film The Testament of Ann Lee.
Jana Horn – All in Bet
The Texan songwriter paints in every shade of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, as delicate traces of keys and wind instruments shade her exhausted letdown.
Umor Rex – Lo Animal
One might readily envision the work of this Madrid cellist's industrial-tinged gothic opus featured in a Dune soundtrack, due to its seismic drum work, metallic shrieks, spooky vocal harmonies and apocalyptic grandeur.
Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist joins forces with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo on a track of hard-hitting ghettotech: the percussion is overpowering but the melody is almost dream-pop.
Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
Included on the latest mixtape, Amnesia, British MC Jawnino flows over an assortment of cloud-rap instrumentals from Surf Gang, and this track is a highlight, Jawnino focused and in the zone as he observes the drug trade.
Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
With production by Ty Segall, this garage-rock-influenced track chugs along entirely at its own pace, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the Austin musician’s hazy daydream about how “the moon returns the spirit to me”.