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Hailing from Melbourne
Ideal listening for those who enjoy the C86 compilation, Australian and New Zealand guitar pop, art-pop experimentation
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 engrossing, wide-ranging sets that can run the gamut from icy, atmospheric ambience to churning drum'n'bass and beyond. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that delivers far beyond its size when it comes to putting out charmingly moody experimental pop music, with contributors ranging from the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, Troth, a bass-heavy duo from Hobart, and renowned underground polymath Simon Fisher Turner.

In 2017, the label released 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 also functions as a carefully curated roadmap to some of the best twee-pop groups making music now. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, with a 2025 debut, A Profound Non-Event, that stands as one of the year’s underrated gems, offer Time, a seven-minute daydream built on melodica and guitar. Chateau, the pair, comprising Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, explore percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, blend influences from 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; minimalist Sydney group the Lewers; and bright, folk-tinged pop from the Dutch pair the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s destined to be a beloved and regularly mentioned resource among connoisseurs of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.

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