Appleonia
Appleonia is Jessica Chapnik Kahn who is a singer songwriter and actor based in America who comes from Australia, who has worked with Ben Lee, Old Man River and Sarah Blasko. I was impressed and really dug her tunes and thought she was worthy of being on the site. This talented person is going places.
http://www.appleoniamusic.com/
1. How did you get into music?
I heard Fleetwood Macs’ “Tango in the Night” record when I was really little and I was totally smitten.
2. Why call yourself Appleonia, why did you choose that name?
I feel it gives me more freedom. There is more room for transformation. The name itself came to me in a dream, hallucination, fantasy type thing, no doubt also influenced by watching Prince’s film “Purple Rain” many times over.
3. How is it different to you from the acting stuff you have done?
With my own music, I’m in charge. I’m not serving someone else’s vision. It’s my own fantasy. That’s a very different way to work and very rewarding.
4. What inspires you when writing music?
Just about anything. Mainly a sense of drama.
5. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Prince. Almodóvar. Kate Bush. Woody Allen. Leonard Cohen.
6. What has been you favorite role to date?
Working on the Spanish film “Amanecer”. Acting in my mother tongue was a whole other emotional experience.
7. How did you get involved with Ben Lee with your music?
We’d met in Texas when I was playing in Sarah Blasko’s band. He asked me to sing on a soundtrack he’d written for the Australian film “The Square”. After that, we began dreaming up the possibility of what would become Appleonia.
8. How has social networking helped you as an artist?
It means I can make video art and share it with lots of people. That has been a really fun part of this project.
9. Who have you enjoyed working with recently?
I just finished co-writing Ben Lee’s next album. It was the two of us in a room like scientists. That was really an experience.
10. Where has been your favorite place to play?
After a long tour around Australia when I was in Old Man River’s band, we ended up playing to 8 people in Ballarat, Victoria. It was one of the funniest, most delirious shows I’ve ever known. It was the night that we were truly invisible. Literally we are not sure if it even happened. We were like holograms. No one was listening, and we were trying all manner of inappropriate things to snap them into attention, to no avail. We were so bold. Someone from the crowd later told me they “liked my shapes”. Referring to my dancing. It all made a big impression on me.
11, Who would you most like to go on tour with?
Radiohead
12. What is in on your stereo at the moment?
The soundtrack to the film “Yentle”
13. What is next for yourself?
I am currently writing the score for the upcoming documentary “Despite the Gods”, which is a bio pic about Jennifer Lynch, daughter of director David Lynch. It’s a Bollywood Hollywood thing. It’s very experimental and magical.
14. How is music different to acting for you?
I see the similarities mainly. I think they are both about being totally present. And they both need a lot of space to give yourself somewhere to go, somewhere to climax. And they are both more interesting when there is some kind of dissonance.
