Matthew Xue's Intriguingly Atmospheric Curated Collections and This Week's Best New Tracks
Hailing from Melbourne
Recommended if you like classic jangle-pop compilations, Antipodean jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Up next The compilation 'Going Back to Sleep' is currently released
The artist known as DJ Moopie, real name Matthew Xue, from Melbourne, has built a reputation for engrossing, wide-ranging sets that can run the gamut from chilled-out soundscapes to driving drum and bass and much more. 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 quirky and introspective pop experiments, featuring a diverse roster including percussionist Valentina Magaletti, based in London, dubby Hobart duo Troth, and renowned underground polymath Simon Fisher Turner.
Back in 2017, the imprint put out 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 also functions as a carefully curated roadmap to some of the best twee-pop groups active today. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is a hidden jewel from this year, contribute Time, a seven-minute daydream built on melodica and guitar. Chateau, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, explore beat-driven, psychedelic-infused easy listening on How Long on the Platform, whereas the band Who Cares?, draw equally from the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.
On other parts of the compilation, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from Bay Area indie fixtures the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s likely to grow into deeply cherished and often cited with fans of all things delicate and deeply felt.
The Top New Releases This Week
Flea – A Plea
A rare solo track from the RHCP bass player, and a magnificently realised one: driving yet inquisitive soul-infused jazz with Flea calling for peace and love. “I’m not being corny – this shit is real!”
Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Following his Oscar win for Best Original Score this year, you can imagine Blumberg winning the Best Original Song award in 2026 thanks to this remarkable collaboration with Amanda Seyfried included in his soundtrack to The Testament of Ann Lee.
Jana Horn – All in Bet
Jana Horn, an artist based in Texas depicts all the nuances of melancholy in this opulently sad new song, as delicate traces of piano and flute shade her exhausted letdown.
Umor Rex – Lo Animal
One might readily envision this cellist from Madrid's dark, gothic composition touched by industrial music playing over scenes in Dune, thanks to its pounding percussion, 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, British MC Jawnino rolls over diverse, ethereal rap production from Surf Gang, with this song standing as a peak moment, Jawnino focused and in the zone as he observes the world of narcotics.
Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Produced by Ty Segall, this garagey number moves forward stubbornly on its own schedule, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the Austin-based artist's woozy reflection about how “the moon returns the spirit to me”.