Remember video games from the late 90s and early 2000s. Pixel graphics, dreamy melodies, strange synthesizer sounds, and most importantly, that indescribable feeling when you discover something new. The song “Jeju Organic Green Tea” by Munan evokes the same emotions. If you haven’t heard of Munan yet – now is the perfect time to catch up. This guy, as if teleported from the late 90s, mixes nostalgia for retro games with jazz, drum and bass, and atmospheric vibes, resulting in a real soundtrack for summer. Ahead of the release of his mini-album “Everything in Between,” he has released several tracks, and “Jeju Organic Green Tea” is one of them. The story behind the song, by the way, is no less cool than the music itself.
Its title was born almost by accident. Munan once came across a tea bag with the inscription Jeju Organic Green Tea somewhere in Korea, and it struck him. “I wondered: how can something made mass-produced be organic at all? And then I realized – even in the simplest things you can find something of your own if you look closely,” he says. And as a true fan of retro gaming, Munan uses Jungle and DnB, genres deeply rooted in the soundtracks of 90s/00s games Wipeout, Jet Set Radio, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater all known for their dynamic, flowing rhythms. Such music is associated with movement, exploration, and inner energy. Together with friends, they worked thoroughly on the bass and drums, it turned out atmospheric. It sounds as if pulled out of some old RPG found on a dusty cartridge.
The song “Jeju Organic Green Tea” by Munan sounds light, playful, yet at the same time metaphorical. On the surface, it’s about how the author “finds” organic green tea from Jeju Island in his own garden. However, behind this image there is probably a meaning: the search for something pure, unique, and real inside oneself or one’s life, as opposed to the “non-original,” mass-produced. Munan says that genuine things we do not buy or search for far away. They are already “in our garden.” “Jeju Organic Green Tea” preserves the spirit of a bygone era. That very moment when you accidentally find something of your own, and the whole world freezes for a second. “Jeju Organic Green Tea” is already available on all streaming platforms. Tune in to the right wave! The EP “Everything in Between” releases on May 28.
Voxwave Magazine: Music, Culture, Interview, Fashion 