Single Review: pfmcfnc

Residing in Nelson, Steve Hutchinson creates rock and heavy metal music as a means of expressing himself, and to leave a mark on Aotearoa’s music scene. Though disabled, this has not deterred Steve from venturing forth and making some noise on guitar. This plucky rock musician was eager to share his most recent creation, the cryptically titled Pfmcfnc.

The song leaps straight into the fray, no fiddly intros, no fuss. A programmed, mid-tempo rock drumbeat sets the pace, while a blues-y guitar solo free-forms right through the tune. The fact that this probably won’t be a conventional rock song becomes clear as a computerised, female voice “sings” in the artist’s place. The writer of the song appears to have a good, wry sense of humour as he mixes stream-of-consciousness spoken word phrases with some whimsical notes. Mr Hutchinson muses “I hate being in a wheelchair; it won’t let me down”, but then adds “I have a rockstar life – That’s what I do. I like Spice Girls etcetera”, reflecting on his outlook on life whilst playfully adding in his interests.

The robotic voice echoes and reverberates heavily, making some words hard to hear. Yet the tone of the song overall comes across introspective, if not positive. Unexpectedly, the spoken word approach suits the mixture of drums and guitar well, albeit in an avant-garde manner. With the reverb of the vocals dialed down, and the mixing of guitar parts tightened, this piece would succeed as a nice bit of art-rock.

With this song, Steve serves a musical introduction to who he is, and appears to wear his disability with pride. It’s clear he has not let his physicality hold him back from creating music, and that should be an enviable characteristic to everyone.

Check out the song pfmcfnc here.