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From Melbourne
Recommended if you like the C86 indie pop sound, Australian and New Zealand guitar pop, atmospheric pop
Up next 'Going Back to Sleep' is available now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, has built a reputation for deeply absorbing musical journeys that effortlessly shift between icy, atmospheric ambience to churning drum'n'bass and beyond. Additionally, he operates A Colourful Storm – an exceptional independent record label that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to putting out quirky and introspective pop experiments, featuring a diverse roster including percussionist Valentina Magaletti, based in London, dubby Hobart duo Troth, and esteemed multi-disciplinary artist Simon Fisher Turner.

In 2017, the label released I Won’t Have to Think About You, a compilation of winsome, C86-ish indie pop. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which also functions as a carefully curated roadmap to some of the best twee-pop groups currently working. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is an overlooked treasure of the year, offer Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chateau, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), push into rhythmic, trippy lounge music 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.

In other tracks, Going Back to Sleep features tracks from the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; the sparse-sounding Sydney ensemble the Lewers; and sun-dappled folk-pop from Dutch duo the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s destined to be a beloved and regularly mentioned resource with fans of music that is subtle and emotionally resonant.

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