Feature: Andrew Schneider Decodes “Femme Fatale”
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind "Femme Fatale" and the story it tells?
“Femme Fatale” was born out of a deep love for detective fiction, celebrating classic noir tropes with mid-century Bluegrass and Swing flair. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics follow the narrator’s pining and romanticizing of his own bad decisions, and while the storytelling is fairly straightforward, it carries on the primary theme of my recent ‘Value Set!’ EP: reflecting on the compromises we make, and the cost they carry.
How did you approach the arrangement and composition of the music for this song?
The first demo of “Femme Fatale” came way back in 2012 as one of my earliest attempts at a home recording. The outcome was a dense, poppy track with an extended piano intro, layers of comb-filtered synthesizers, and some really rough MIDI trumpets and drums (you can still hear that demo here).
Even though the recording wasn’t great, there was a solid song beneath the amateur production. The guitars, bass, and trumpet carried the most compelling elements, so I knew if I ever revisited Femme Fatale for a proper release, I wanted to strip away the extraneous instruments to focus on the acoustic sound at the center. Each instrument really gets its moment to shine, especially in the extended jazz bridge that forms the 2nd half of the track.
What did you enjoy most about making “Femme Fatale?”
Revisiting one of my earliest original songs felt like a celebration, applying everything I’ve learned as an arranger, performer, and producer in the past decade. It was a thrill to collaborate with talented session musicians and engineers who I never would have been able to work with a decade ago, with Chris McQueen (Snarky Puppy, Forq) deserving special kudos for pulling double-duty on guitars. 2024 was a busy year for me personally, and I knew going in that I wouldn't have a lot of time to devote to new music. Revisiting unreleased tracks and covers allowed me to sneak a few tracks over the finish line.
Can you share a bit about your musical background and the journey that led you to where you are today?
I’ve always been drawn to musicians who could make intricate music seem warm and whimsical. My background is originally in jazz piano, and I tried to filter my love for Bill Evans and Dave Brubeck through my favorite songwriters like Andy Partridge and David Byrne. I started producing and recording original music in college, and after working on demos for several years released ‘The Nearest Parallel’ EP in 2018. I was heavily inspired by orchestral art pop records like Joe Jackson’s Night and Day & XTC’s Apple Venus, with a series of songs revolving around alienation and isolation. I began working on my second EP Value Set! in 2020, focusing on the cost of compromise and the clash between personal ideals and ambition, with a more prominent Psychedelic and Alternative sound that’s carried through to my most recent singles.
How has your creative process evolved over the years, and what have been the driving factors behind that evolution?
When I started out as a songwriter, my jazz background would tend to seep out when writing music, so I almost always ended up accidentally writing a chord progression or melody that was way too overwrought. I’d try to refashion that snippet into serving as the composition’s climax, and then figure out how to work my way back to that point in a looser fashion. For “Femme Fatale,” that meant the first thing I wrote was the last four measures of the second chorus, which features counterpoint lead guitar and trumpet melodies as well as 3-part vocal harmonies. Unless you’re making math rock, you can’t start a song like that!
Over the years, I’ve worked to gain clarity in my vision and the skills to bring it to life. Stripping back “Femme Fatale” to its acoustic elements is a perfect example of this evolution, moving away from cluttered production to let the song’s essence shine through. In many ways, it reflects one of the central themes in my music: compromise. Every choice in an arrangement comes with a cost, and learning to navigate that has been a huge part of my growth as an artist.
