The new single from The Mung Beings, Wake Up, was partly inspired by whistleblower Edward Snowden, who in 2013 at great risk to himself, revealed the top secret global surveillance operations being undertaken by the NSA. Since then, rapidly developing technology means mass surveillance is ever more pervasive in modern society. With soundbites from Snowden himself, the song urges listeners to wake up to the fact that we are all being constantly spied upon.
Along with Orwell’s 1984, the song also references the classic John Carpenter film They Live, the premise of which revolves around a drifter who discovers that the ruling class are concealing their appearance and manipulating people through subliminal messages to, as in the song’s refrain, “obey consume, conform”.
The EP features five remixes from Broad Oak, Boxroom Rebel, The Tellurians, Trouble and Choam Nomsky.