2001–2010: The Mint Chicks In 2001, Nielson and his brother formed a punk band at high school, performing gigs in Auckland. The band became The Mint Chicks and was soon signed to
Flying Nun Records. They released three EPs and three albums:
Octagon, Octagon, Octagon EP (2003),
Anti-Tiger EP (2004),
Fuck the Golden Youth (2005),
Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! (2006),
Screens (2009), and
Bad Buzz (2010). In New Zealand, The Mint Chicks were a critical and commercial success; the album
Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! won five awards at the 2007
Aotearoa Music Awards, including best rock album and album of the year, and was certified gold. The Mint Chicks had a reputation for being provocative with chaotic shows, in part due to the tension between Nielson and Ruban, By this time, Runga and Nielson were in a romantic relationship. Nielson and Ruban began repairing their relationship in 2011. Opossom briefly toured with Ruban's new project,
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, in a series of New Zealand shows. The album was described as "bright, clear psychedelia" and "sleekly designed indie pop" by
Jayson Greene of
Pitchfork. Opossom was unable to continue into a full-time act due to Runga's other career projects and the couple's commitments to their children, and the band was put on hiatus.
2014–present: Silicon and Unknown Mortal Orchestra In 2014, Nielson reunited with his brother and worked on Unknown Mortal Orchestra's album
Multi-Love (2015). The album reached 22 on the New Zealand album charts and spent 5 weeks on the top 20 Aotearoa albums charts, peaking at 4. Nielson toured in Auckland, London, Paris and Amsterdam, with multi-instrumentalist Julien Dyne helping play the music live. That same year, Nielson signed on to join
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, returning to playing with Ruban in an official capacity some eight years after The Mint Chicks. ==Personal life==