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

Hailing from Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, AU/NZ jangle-pop, atmospheric pop
Newest project The compilation 'Going Back to Sleep' is currently released

The artist known as DJ Moopie, real name Matthew Xue, from Melbourne, is renowned for deeply absorbing musical journeys that often traverse from gelid ambient music to churning drum'n'bass and much more. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to releasing endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, with contributors ranging from London-based percussionist 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 collection of delightful, C86-inspired indie pop. More recently, it has issued Going Back to Sleep, a record that acts as a companion piece which simultaneously serves as a succinct overview to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts active today. Sydney band Daily Toll, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is one of the year’s underrated gems, contribute Time, a sprawling, seven-minute meditation featuring melodica and guitar. The duo Chateau, comprising Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, explore rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, while the band Who Cares?, draw equally from the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; Sydney's minimalist outfit the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s destined to be a beloved and regularly mentioned resource among connoisseurs of all things delicate and deeply felt.

This Week’s Best New Tracks

Flea – A Plea
A rare solo track from the RHCP bass player, and it is superbly executed: driving yet inquisitive soul-infused jazz where Flea pleads for peace and love. “This isn't cliché – it's genuine!”

Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
After securing this year's Oscar for Best Original Score, one could envision Blumberg earning the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song for this breathtaking duet with Seyfried taken from the soundtrack he composed for The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
The Texan songwriter depicts all the nuances of melancholy on this richly despondent return, where the slightest touches of piano and woodwind colour her weary disappointment.

Umor Rex – Lo Animal
You could easily imagine the work of this Madrid cellist's industrial-tinged gothic opus featured in a Dune soundtrack, with its thundering drums, metallic shrieks, spooky vocal harmonies and cataclysmic majesty.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist collaborates with UK bass producer DJ Polo from Bristol to deliver pounding ghettotech: the beats are absolutely crushing but the melody is almost dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
On new mixtape Amnesia, UK rapper Jawnino rides diverse, ethereal rap production by Surf Gang, with this song standing as a peak moment, Jawnino focused and in the zone while he examines the drug trade.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Produced by Ty Segall, this song with a garage vibe chugs along entirely at its own pace, from runaway truck to the Austin-based artist's dazed reverie about how “my spirit is restored by the moon”.