The Margate-based band on why Radiohead’s ‘Lucky’ continues to resonate with them
The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!
Tokyo Tea Room are a Margate-based four-piece whose hazy blend of dream pop, psychedelia and indie soul has steadily earned them an international following. Led by songwriter and vocalist Daniel Elliott, the band combine shimmering guitars, soft-focus synths and understated vocals with songwriting that explores love, longing and the passing of time. Their sound draws comparisons to the likes of Beach House, Men I Trust and Mac DeMarco.
Following their 2025 debut album No Rush, Tokyo Tea Room returned in September 2026 with Feel Forever. Exploring themes of love, loss and emotional vulnerability, the album develops the band’s dreamy, melodic sound across ten tracks, balancing wistful songwriting with rich, atmospheric production.
For their One Track Mind selection, Tokyo Tea Room have chosen Radiohead’s ‘Lucky’, a suitably melancholic pick from the band’s landmark 1997 album OK Computer.
Tokyo Tea Room on Radiohead – Lucky
There’s something about “Lucky” that I’ve always found difficult to put into words. It’s a song that feels both incredibly fragile and euphoric at the same time. There’s a darkness to it, but also evokes a feeling of hope, like something beautiful is trying to break through. I think I could be having the worst or the best day of my life and have that reflected by this song.
Radiohead is one of those bands I grew up listening to, and of all the bands that pass me by I think they are the most difficult to ignore. I sort of found them through my own musical journey but in my early 20’s they really started to soundtrack my life, I found versions of my life experiences in their music.
My resonance with ‘Lucky’ lies in the detail in the way each of the instruments unfold and speak to each other. There’s a perfect harmony between them but if you listen close enough there’s an expansiveness. It’s one of those songs that I would love to solo the stems for.
Thom Yorke’s voice is emotionally powerful, the delivery of some of the lines are weary and intimate like he’s exhausted and then they develop into a huge wall of sound. I love how they fade alongside the arrangements.
This song has actually shaped my approach to songwriting and production, it changed the way I see to create an emotional atmosphere. I love the idea of expressing contradictory emotions by juxtaposition of arrangements and lyrics.
Tokyo Tea Room – Feel Forever is out now
