Kody Nielson

Carl Kody Nielson (born 9 May, 1982), better known as Kody Nielson and also by his musical stage name Silicon, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter, musician, and producer, best known as a former vocalist and member of the art punk band The Mint Chicks.

Nielson performed with The Mint Chicks throughout the 2000s alongside his brother, Ruban Nielson, releasing three albums. The band's 2006 release Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!, for which Nielson was both a performer, producer, and engineer, went gold and won in several categories in the 2007 Aotearoa Music Awards, including best rock album and album of the year. The group abruptly disbanded in 2010.

In 2011, Nielson formed Opossom with his partner and fellow musician Bic Runga, and former bandmate Michael Logie, releasing their debut album Electric Hawaii the following year. The band went on hiatus shortly after due to his family commitments and Runga's other projects, prompting Nielson to go solo. In 2015, Nielson began his solo career under the pseudonym Silicon, with the release of Personal Computer, which won the 2016 Taite Music Prize.

Since 2018, Nielson has reunited with his brother as a member of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and has continued to work on his solo projects, including Birthday Suite (2018) and Birthday Suite Vol. II (2021), a collection of abstract instrumental albums released under his name. In addition to his bands and projects, Nielson is also an accomplished producer and writer and has collaborated on a number of albums by other artists, including The Adults, King Kapisi, the Finn Brothers, and Bic Runga, to name some.