No Feeling Is Final: Two Lanes on Emotion, Experimentation, and Live Shows

German brothers Leo and Rafa Schmid, known collectively as TWO LANES, have established themselves as a live act that commands attention in the electronic music world. Hailing from Germany, the duo seamlessly combines classical piano, analog synths, and minimal electronic elements to create music that is precise, layered, and engaging. Their approach is experimental yet grounded: they follow ideas wherever they lead, blending acoustic and electronic sounds without a fixed formula.

With their new EP No Feeling Is Final out and their tour already underway, TWO LANES continue to expand their sonic palette, exploring contrasts, introspection, and subtle new textures. Their live performances are dynamic and ever-changing, often featuring tracks that exist only in the moment, giving each show a unique edge.

From casual fan interactions at airports to refining tracks like “Evoke” late in the studio, their work reflects both careful craft and openness to spontaneity. Beyond music, the brothers draw inspiration from a wide range of experiences and creative pursuits, with Rafa drawn to painting and Leo to writing, highlighting the depth behind their artistic process.

In the following interview, TWO LANES share insights into their creative approach, the making of No Feeling Is Final, and glimpses into the humor, personalities, and brotherly dynamics that shape their work.

1. Your music often balances acoustic and electronic elements. How do you decide which ideas stay organic and which become electronic?

We don’t follow a fixed formula when combining acoustic instruments with electronic elements. If something inspires us, whether it’s a piano recording or an interesting effect, we simply follow where it leads. We try not to think in categories of how a sound was created. For us, creativity always comes first, not the equipment or a predefined plan.

2. Are there particular emotions or stories you wanted to capture in No Feeling Is Final that you feel are distinct from Duality or Innervision?

We first came across the phrase No Feeling Is Final at an exhibition, and it immediately stayed with us. Later we discovered that it originates from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Go to the Limits of Your Longing, which contains the lines: “Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.”

These words resonated deeply with us and became a guiding thread for the EP. With the EP, we tried to be more focused on contrasts and introspection. It embraces the idea that all states, whether joyful or painful, are transient and that movement and change are part of the creative process itself.

3. Performing live seems central to your process. How do you keep your shows feeling fresh for both longtime fans and new listeners?

Our live set is always changing. We love bringing in new ideas we are working on, and sometimes those tracks only exist in the live show. We like the idea that certain music can only be experienced in the moment, in the context of a concert.

4. Can you share a moment on tour—big or small—that surprised you or changed the way you think about your music?

Once, our hand luggage was pulled aside during security control at the airport, and the officer asked if we were musicians and what our band was called. While we were talking, he pulled out his phone and showed us some of our tracks he enjoys listening to. It was a really nice encounter.

5. Are there any unusual or unexpected sources of inspiration that influence your music—outside of classical or electronic genres?

It’s difficult to say how things from outside influence our music, because there is rarely a direct connection. Often it only becomes clear afterward: when listening to a finished record, memories of that time return—the place where we worked on the track, the music we were listening to, the books we were reading, or just the general mood we were in during that period of life.

6. Your June EP No Feeling Is Final introduced some new textures. Was there a track that challenged you more than the others during production?

For Evoke, we had a version pretty early on that was nearly finished. When we were wrapping up the EP, we wanted to dive back in and refine the version, which is a difficult process. Your ears are very used to that version, and every change feels intrusive. After some time, we managed to add elements the track definitely needed, like the string recording in the bridge.

7. How do you approach collaboration between the two of you when creative disagreements arise?

It depends. If we both have strong ideas we want to explore, we just try out both and see how we feel. Usually, things become clearer the next day.

8. If you weren’t making music, what kind of art or creative work do you think you’d be drawn to?

Rafa: Painting. Leo: Writing.

9. Which of you is more likely to get lost in a city, and who’s the human GPS?

Leo is definitely the GPS of the duo.

10. If you could only use one instrument for the rest of your life, but it had to be something completely ridiculous, what would it be?

Nils Frahm once played the strings of a grand piano with toilet brushes as percussive objects. That might be something to explore.