Q/A: 10 Questions with Lucid Express

As they gear up to hit the road for a massive US tour, Hong Kong's Lucid Express is riding high on the success of their stunning sophomore album, Instant Comfort.

A lot has changed in the five years since their debut. But despite Instant Comfort’s massive success, playing festivals like Slide Away, and collaborating across the globe, the band remains incredibly grounded—still navigating the universal indie hustle of balancing international acclaim with their everyday day jobs.

We caught up with Lucid Express right before they packed their bags to talk about their distinct sonic identity, the surreal feeling of crossing borders with their music, and why you definitely shouldn't assume their name is a nod to a Wong Kar-wai film.

Being a band from Hong Kong with “Express” in your name, it’s hard not to think of Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express. Your music is often described as “cinematic” and “neon-soaked”—is there a direct correlation there?

Unfortunately, there's no connection to Chungking Express, haha. I'm not even a fan of Wong Kar-wai at all. "Express" is actually more related to Kraftwerk's album title, Trans-Europe Express.

How did Lucid Express come together? What was the moment when you realized this group had a distinct identity?

We came together and realized what we were doing when the last piece of the puzzle—Sky—joined the current lineup.

How did you first discover the shoegaze/dream pop sound? Was there a specific record that made you realize this was the language you wanted to speak?

I guess we all had our own ways of first coming into contact with the shoegaze and dream pop sound, but our common ground at the very beginning was Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine.

It’s been five years since your debut. How has your perspective on the world shifted in that time, and how did those changes shape the textures and emotional atmosphere of Instant Comfort?

Our perspectives on the world have changed mostly because of our personal growth. For example, Sky has become an established experimental sound artist; Samuel and Wai have been working very hard on their restaurant; Wai has also been experimenting a lot with drums and rhythms; Andy is getting better and better at his music production skills and got married; and Kim has been getting into choral works and classical singing. All of the above might have played a part in shaping the textures and emotional atmosphere of Instant Comfort.

If Instant Comfort were a film scene rather than an album, what would we see? Who are the characters, and what moment in their lives are we witnessing?

It might be like The Worst Person in the World, that kind of vibe.

You formed in 2014 during a turbulent and politically charged period in Hong Kong. Now, as you release your sophomore album in 2026, how—if at all—has the evolving political climate influenced your creative process or the emotional undercurrent of your music?

I guess we have a realization, due to the political climate, that we need to stay close to people who share the same thoughts.

You’ve recently played iconic festivals like Levitation and the Slide Away events in New York and Los Angeles. What did it feel like bringing Lucid Express from Hong Kong to those stages? Was there a specific moment during those shows when it truly sank in that your music had crossed borders?

We are very grateful that we got to play in those big events! We're glad that the scale of those festivals allowed us to reach out to more people who might like our music. The specific moment that we felt our music had crossed borders might be when people came up to us and said hi or said something nice about our performance—it really means a lot to us!

Many incredible Asian bands remain “local legends” and never quite bridge the gap to Western labels like Kanine Records. Looking back on your transition from Thud to Lucid Express, what was the turning point that helped you break through to an international audience?

It was never our intention to reach out to the world as "from HK"... when we first started, we really just wanted to reach out to as many people as we possibly could (and we still think like that). We are extremely lucky to get our "breakthrough" because of the people we've met along the way... very, very thankful.

You mixed your new album, Instant Comfort, via marathon Discord sessions with Kurt Feldman in New York. Do you think this “borderless” way of working is the future for bands outside the US/UK looking to make a global impact?

It might work, or not at all—it really depends on the mixing style and personality, etc. But we don't think it's a necessary thing to do in order to make a global impact.

Your Kanine profile mentions recording late into the dawn because of day jobs. After your international breakthrough and extensive 2025/2026 US touring, has that reality shifted? Or do you still find yourselves balancing music with everyday life?

That reality has hardly shifted. We all find ourselves balancing music with everyday life. At least for most of the guys in the band—Kim is more like struggling between the two (laughs).

If you had to choose five specific images—just still frames—to represent the soul of Lucid Express, what would they be?

A quiet ocean; crisp winter air; a full moon; a sunset; and a clear sky with stars.

Which Asian bands do you think the global shoegaze community should be paying attention to right now?

Death of Heather and Tokyo Shoegazer.