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Hailing from Melbourne
Ideal listening for those who enjoy the C86 compilation, Antipodean jangle-pop, Mess Esque
Up next The compilation 'Going Back to Sleep' is currently released

The artist known as DJ Moopie, real name Matthew Xue, from Melbourne, is celebrated for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that can run the gamut from gelid ambient music to pulsating breakbeats and beyond. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – an exceptional independent record label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to releasing charmingly moody experimental pop music, featuring a diverse roster including the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, Troth, a bass-heavy duo from Hobart, and esteemed multi-disciplinary artist 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. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a record that acts as a companion piece which simultaneously serves as a carefully curated roadmap to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts currently working. Sydney band Daily Toll, their 2025 first record A Profound Non-Event being one of the year’s underrated gems, 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), venture into percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, draw equally from moody vocalists Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; Sydney's minimalist outfit the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s destined to be well-loved and frequently referenced for aficionados of all things delicate and deeply felt.

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