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From Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 indie pop sound, 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 captivating and eclectic DJ sets that often traverse from chilled-out soundscapes to churning drum'n'bass plus other genres. 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 London-based percussionist Valentina Magaletti, 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, 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 doubles as a succinct overview to a selection of top-notch twee-pop acts making music now. Sydney band Daily Toll, with a 2025 debut, A Profound Non-Event, that stands as an overlooked treasure of the year, contribute Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. The duo Chateau, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), push into beat-driven, psychedelic-infused easy listening on How Long on the Platform, whereas Who Cares?, channel equal parts the styles of Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; minimalist Sydney group the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s destined to be deeply cherished and often cited for aficionados of all things delicate and deeply felt.

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