DJ Moopie's Intriguingly Atmospheric Curated Collections along with This Week's Top Fresh Releases

Hailing from Melbourne
Perfect for fans of the C86 compilation, AU/NZ jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Up next Going Back to Sleep out now

The artist known as DJ Moopie, real name Matthew Xue, from Melbourne, is celebrated for deeply absorbing musical journeys that can run the gamut from chilled-out soundscapes to pulsating breakbeats and much more. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – an exceptional independent record label that delivers far beyond its size when it comes to putting out charmingly moody experimental pop music, featuring a diverse roster including percussionist Valentina Magaletti, based in London, 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, an assortment of charming guitar-pop reminiscent of the C86 era. This year saw the release of Going Back to Sleep, a record that acts as a companion piece which doubles as a succinct overview to some of the best twee-pop groups active today. The Sydney group Daily Toll, their 2025 first record A Profound Non-Event being a hidden jewel from this year, offer Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chateau, the pair, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, venture into beat-driven, psychedelic-infused easy listening on How Long on the Platform, while Who Cares?, draw equally from the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s almost certain to become deeply cherished and often cited among connoisseurs of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.

The Top New Releases This Week

Flea – A Plea
An uncommon single release from the RHCP bass player, and it is superbly executed: propulsive but exploratory soul-jazz with Flea calling for tranquility and compassion. “This isn't cliché – it's genuine!”

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 Best Original Song award in 2026 thanks to this remarkable collaboration with Amanda Seyfried taken from the score for the film The Testament of Ann Lee.

Jana Horn – All in Bet
Jana Horn, an artist based in Texas captures the full spectrum of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, where the slightest touches 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 playing over scenes in Dune, due to its seismic drum work, screeching metallic sounds, eerie chorals and cataclysmic majesty.

Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist teams up with Bristolian UK bass producer DJ Polo for some slamming ghettotech: the percussion is overpowering yet the melody approaches dream-pop.

Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
On new mixtape Amnesia, British MC Jawnino rides an assortment of cloud-rap instrumentals courtesy of Surf Gang, with this song standing as a peak moment, Jawnino alert and locked in while he examines the landscape of drug dealing.

Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Produced 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 “my spirit is restored by the moon”.