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Based in Melbourne
Recommended if you like classic jangle-pop compilations, Antipodean jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Latest release Going Back to Sleep out now

Melbourne-based DJ Moopie, AKA Matthew Xue, has built a reputation for deeply absorbing musical journeys that effortlessly shift between gelid ambient music to driving drum and bass plus other genres. He also runs A Colourful Storm – a remarkable DIY imprint that consistently exceeds expectations when it comes to putting out quirky and introspective pop experiments, from artists as disparate as the rhythmic explorations of Valentina Magaletti, the dub-infused sounds of Hobart pair Troth, and the prolific underground figure 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. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a quasi-sequel to that record which simultaneously serves as a carefully curated roadmap to several excellent bands in the gentle pop sphere active today. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, their 2025 first record A Profound Non-Event being an overlooked treasure of the year, offer Time, a seven-minute melodica-and-guitar reverie. Chateau, the pair, the duo of Al Montfort (Terry, Total Control) and Alex Macfarlane (the Stevens, Twerps), explore percussive, psychedelic lounge pop on How Long on the Platform, and Who Cares?, channel equal parts Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

On other parts of the compilation, Going Back to Sleep includes contributions from San Francisco indie stalwarts the Reds, Pinks and Purples; minimalist Sydney group the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. It’s an unassuming compilation that’s destined to be deeply cherished and often cited with fans of music that is subtle and emotionally resonant.

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