Matthew Xue's Charmingly Moody Curated Collections along with The Week's Top Fresh Releases
Based in Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 indie pop sound, Antipodean jangle-pop, atmospheric pop
Newest project Going Back to Sleep out now
Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, has built a reputation for captivating and eclectic DJ sets that effortlessly shift between icy, atmospheric ambience to churning drum'n'bass and beyond. Additionally, he operates A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to releasing charmingly moody experimental pop music, from artists as disparate as the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, dubby Hobart duo Troth, and the prolific underground figure 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. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a record that acts as a companion piece which also functions as a succinct overview to some of the best twee-pop groups making music now. The Sydney group Daily Toll, their 2025 first record A Profound Non-Event being one of the year’s underrated gems, contribute Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. The duo Chateau, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, push into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, draw equally from Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.
Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; Sydney's minimalist outfit the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. It stands as a humble compilation that’s destined to be deeply cherished and often cited with fans of all things delicate and deeply felt.
This Week’s Best New Tracks
Flea – A Plea
A seldom-seen individual effort by the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, and a magnificently realised one: driving yet inquisitive soul-infused jazz where Flea pleads for tranquility and compassion. “This isn't cliché – it's genuine!”
Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
Following his Oscar win for Best Original Score this year, it's easy to picture Blumberg taking home best original song in 2026 thanks to this remarkable collaboration with Amanda Seyfried included in the score for the film The Testament of Ann Lee.
Jana Horn – All in Bet
The Texan songwriter paints in every shade of a sigh in this opulently sad new song, as delicate traces of piano and woodwind tinge her fatigued disillusionment.
Umor Rex – Lo Animal
You could easily imagine the work of this Madrid cellist's industrial-tinged gothic opus featured in a Dune soundtrack, due to its seismic drum work, screeching metallic sounds, haunting choral passages and apocalyptic grandeur.
Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Austrian visionary Zora Jones collaborates with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo on a track of hard-hitting ghettotech: the drums could knock you flat yet the melody approaches dream-pop.
Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
On new mixtape Amnesia, The UK's Jawnino flows over 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 world of narcotics.
Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Helmed 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 “the moon returns the spirit to me”.
