DJ Moopie's Intriguingly Atmospheric Experimental Compilations along with This Week's Top Fresh Releases

Hailing from Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 indie pop sound, Antipodean jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Up next 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, is renowned for captivating and eclectic DJ sets that often traverse from chilled-out soundscapes to churning drum'n'bass and beyond. Additionally, he operates A Colourful Storm – an exceptional independent record label that delivers far beyond its size when it comes to issuing charmingly moody experimental pop music, with contributors ranging from the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, dubby Hobart duo 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. 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 some of the best twee-pop groups making music now. Sydney band Daily Toll, with a 2025 debut, A Profound Non-Event, that stands as a hidden jewel from this year, contribute Time, a sprawling, seven-minute meditation featuring melodica and guitar. Chateau, the pair, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), explore rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, blend influences from the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from Bay Area indie fixtures the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s likely to grow into well-loved and frequently referenced among connoisseurs of music that is subtle and emotionally resonant.

The Top New Releases This Week

Flea – A Plea
A seldom-seen individual effort from the RHCP bass player, and a magnificently realised one: rhythmically forward-moving but adventurous jazz-soul where Flea pleads for harmony and affection. “No cheesiness here – this is the truth!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
After securing this year's Oscar for Best Original Score, it's easy to picture Blumberg taking home 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 paints in every shade of a sigh on this richly despondent return, as delicate traces of piano and flute shade her exhausted letdown.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
It's not hard to picture this Madrid-based cellist’s industrial-tinged gothic opus playing over scenes in Dune, due to its seismic drum work, screeching metallic sounds, haunting choral passages and end-times grandeur.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
The creative Austrian producer and singer collaborates with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo on a track of hard-hitting ghettotech: the beats are absolutely crushing yet the melody approaches dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
Featured on the fresh mixtape Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino rides diverse, ethereal rap production courtesy of Surf Gang, with this song standing as a peak moment, Jawnino alert and locked in as he surveys the drug trade.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
With production by Ty Segall, this song with a garage vibe moves forward stubbornly on its own schedule, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the Austin musician’s dazed reverie about how “the moon returns the spirit to me”.