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Hailing from Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 compilation, 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 deeply absorbing musical journeys that can run the gamut from chilled-out soundscapes to churning drum'n'bass and beyond. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – a remarkable DIY imprint that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to putting out endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, with contributors ranging from London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, 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 collection of delightful, C86-inspired indie pop. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which simultaneously serves as a neatly drawn guide to several excellent bands in the gentle pop sphere currently working. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is one of the year’s underrated gems, offer Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chateau, the pair, comprising Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, push into percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, and the band Who Cares?, draw equally from the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from 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 stands as a humble compilation that’s destined to be deeply cherished and often cited with fans of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.

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