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From Melbourne
Ideal listening for those who enjoy the C86 indie pop sound, Antipodean jangle-pop, art-pop experimentation
Latest release Going Back to Sleep out now

Matthew Xue, who performs under the moniker DJ Moopie in Melbourne, is celebrated for captivating and eclectic DJ sets that often traverse from icy, atmospheric ambience to driving drum and bass plus other genres. He also runs A Colourful Storm – a fantastic indie label that massively punches above its weight when it comes to issuing charmingly moody experimental pop music, from artists as disparate as percussionist Valentina Magaletti, based in London, Troth, a bass-heavy duo from Hobart, 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. Earlier this year, it put out Going Back to Sleep, a spiritual follow-up to that compilation which also functions as a neatly drawn guide to some of the best twee-pop groups making music now. Daily Toll, a band from Sydney, whose 2025 debut A Profound Non-Event is one of the year’s underrated gems, present 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), push into rhythmic, trippy lounge music on How Long on the Platform, whereas Who Cares?, one of Melbourne's best new bands, blend influences from Hope Sandoval and Eartheater on Wax and Wane.

Elsewhere, Going Back to Sleep showcases songs by the enduring San Francisco indie group the Reds, Pinks and Purples; minimalist Sydney group the Lewers; and the sunny folk-pop of Netherlands-based duo the Hobknobs. This is a modest collection that’s likely to grow into well-loved and frequently referenced for aficionados of all things delicate and deeply felt.

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