Matthew Xue's Charmingly Moody Curated Collections and This Week's Best New Tracks
Hailing from Melbourne
Ideal listening for those who enjoy the C86 indie pop sound, AU/NZ jangle-pop, Mess Esque
Newest project Going Back to Sleep out now
Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, is celebrated for deeply absorbing musical journeys that often traverse from gelid ambient music to pulsating breakbeats and much more. He is also the founder of A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to releasing endearingly atmospheric avant-pop, with contributors ranging from London-based percussionist 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 spiritual follow-up to that compilation which also functions as a succinct overview to some of the best twee-pop groups active today. The Sydney group Daily Toll, their 2025 first record A Profound Non-Event being a hidden jewel from this year, offer Time, a sprawling, seven-minute meditation featuring melodica and guitar. Chateau, featuring members Al Montfort and Alex Macfarlane, venture into percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, while the band Who Cares?, blend influences from Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.
In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; Sydney's minimalist outfit the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. It stands as a humble compilation that’s almost certain to become deeply cherished and often cited for aficionados of art that is gentle and profoundly emotional.
The Top New Releases This Week
Flea – A Plea
An uncommon single release from the RHCP bass player, which is brilliantly accomplished: driving yet inquisitive soul-infused jazz with Flea calling for harmony and affection. “This isn't cliché – it's genuine!”
Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried – Clothed By the Sun
After securing this year's Oscar for Best Original Score, it's easy to picture Blumberg taking home the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song for this stunning Seyfried duet 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 tinge her fatigued disillusionment.
Umor Rex – Lo Animal
You could easily imagine this cellist from Madrid's industrial-tinged gothic opus featured in a Dune soundtrack, with its thundering drums, piercing industrial noises, haunting choral passages and cataclysmic majesty.
Zora Jones x DJ Polo – Hoes Link Up
Imaginative Austrian producer-vocalist joins forces with Bristol-based UK bass maker DJ Polo to deliver pounding ghettotech: the percussion is overpowering yet the melody approaches dream-pop.
Jawnino and Surf Gang – Hit Again
Featured on the fresh mixtape Amnesia, UK rapper Jawnino flows over an assortment of cloud-rap instrumentals from Surf Gang, with this song standing as a peak moment, Jawnino alert and locked in as he observes the landscape of drug dealing.
Annabelle Chairlegs – Heavy Sleeper
Produced by Ty Segall, this garagey number propels itself forward at a self-determined tempo, transitioning from a freight-train momentum to the Austin-based artist's dazed reverie about how “the moon returns the spirit to me”.