Although his stylistic focus has undergone some distinct shifts over the last decade or so, one constant is Nielson’s keen melodic capacity, which gives his work a sense of cohesion. “I just like songs,” he says. “Whatever the production or style, it still actually needs a song. I’ve always tried to keep melodic songs throughout different projects. I suppose I just enjoy that kind of music to listen to.”
Meanwhile, Personal Computer isn’t lacking in experimental flourishes. For instance, the album begins with a monologue recited by an android voice; the chirpy 60-second sequence Little Dancing Baby combines childlike female vocals with a club-ready bass groove; and Love Peace fluctuates between plaintive piano balladry and stabs of whacked-out disco funk. However, as with past projects, Nielson’s attention to songcraft stops his experimental tendencies from overwhelming.
“Everything I work on I try to keep a similar approach,” he says. “I just take extra things here and there – whatever is inspiring or excited me to keep making music, I’ll just try to run with that.”
With this in mind, one wonders what catalysed the Silicon project. After a handful of years leading Opossum (which also featured New Zealand pop singer Bic Runga and former Mint Chicks bassist Michael Logie), a combination of necessity and frustration led Nielson to break away.
“Having broken up with Opossum – or everyone in Opossum got a bit too busy – I just continued trying to write music and make music on my own again,” he says. “I wanted the music to be the finished music. I didn’t want to write more demos. I was kind of doing it all as I went along. With this there was a bit more freedom to just do it and finish it. I didn’t really have to consider anyone else’s ideas or feelings or anything.”
But, while Nielson had a few aims for what this new outlet of expression would encompass, he didn’t bank on it evolving into a fully-fledged project. “To be honest I was just getting a bit sick of band music,” he says. “I was getting a little bit sick of, not just bands, but also just the band politics and dynamics. [Silicon] was sort of getting on with my own thing and doing it for fun, rather than having expectations of what people would think or having to plan it for a group. I guess it just ended up being a whole new project.”
Personal Computer steers clear of the slick muscularity of 21st century studio productions. Instead, the masterfully produced album makes heavy use of keyboards, synth bass, drum programming and other electronic elements.
“I used to make electronic music on my own with a Roland W-30 sequencer and put it to four track. This was before The Mint Chicks. That’s when I first started recording. In a way I just went back to that default mode and just tried to start making music in that way again.
“Most of the time it was a song I’d written on keyboard or written on drums and I’d start trying to layer it all up like that. Having said that, I still muck around with beat making, samples and stuff like that. I try to mix them together a little bit – little ideas I come up with from a production point of view or beat making, I just try to apply them to the songs.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
