Silicon Wins Taite Prize For 2016

Kody Nielson's solo act, Silicon, was named winner of the Taite Prize for 2016, for his album Personal Computer.

The prestigious annual prize, which comes with $10,000 prize money, is in its seventh year, and is awarded by an industry panel for creative excellence.

Nielson's conceptual, electronic-based RnB-soul-funk record was lauded for its innovation and vision, and beat albums from The Phoenix Foundation, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, SJD, Marlon Williams, Anthonie Tonnon, Nadia Reid, and Princess Chelsea.

"I feel weird [about winning] because the other albums nominated are huge," Nielson said.

When speaking to TimeOut last year about the record, he explained that inspiration was drawn from spending a lot of time alone with a computer, and considering how greatly personal technology has permeated our everyday lives.

"I suppose I was trying to make something that represents machine and human. I kept thinking about how people get so into their devices, so they create these personas for their machines, almost - it becomes really personal to them.

"So it might be really expressive and human and emotional, but it's still going through this silicon filter, coming through the devices. I was thinking about that a lot. And how people kind of trust their computers so much."

He explained that the sonic landscape, created entirely by himself was a kind of reaction to a lot of other music he's worked on.

Read the full story by Lydia Jenkin at NZ Herald