You may think this altruistic artist is loaded with cash, a mega star like Bono or Sting. Not so. Meet artist Jessica Chapnik Kahn, the woman behind Appleonia, who donated the proceeds from her debut album to help the needy. Get to know her tune/groove/and inspirations here…
She has a penchant for Prince and the classic, crimson-lipped Hitchcock Woman, is strongly attracted to mythology, Kabbalah and Catholic Churches, and has worked with the likes of Ben Lee and Sarah Blasko.
Within moments of meeting musician, song writer and actor Jessica Chapnik Kahn– known in the music industry as Appleonia– it is apparent that whilst she is diminutive in stature, she is not so in stance.
Jessica is not afraid to admit that she is still growing and evolving, notions that are reflected in the moveable feast that is her music. She’s a fan of the dreamy, stream-of-consciousness style which doesn’t conform to the convention of verse and chorus, has forayed into Indie pop (how she sees her 2014 album OH) and describes her newest project, The Shattering, as having “more of a rock element”. Her music-making methodology isn’t static either. In developing The Shattering over the last year, she has subverted the usual write-record-perform process, instead choosing to perform and then record – which has allowed her to “wear” and perfect the songs prior to mixing and recording them.
Jessica attributes the ongoing evolution of her music (and herself) to many things, but it is clear that her rich and varied heritage (she was raised by Jewish Polish Catholic Italian Argentine parents) and her immigration experience (leaving Buenos Aires at six years old for a migration hostel Sydney’s Eastlakes) has had a profound impact on her. Jessica is open about the challenges it has presented: “I’ve always been looking to be one certain thing. My whole life has been about attempting to reconcile the different parts of me and to be sure about my identity. It’s a journey I’m still on.”
Watch Appleonia’s She is the Sun ft. Craig Nicholls below
Perhaps not surprisingly, she is deeply moved by religion and mythology, and is content to borrow from, and merge, different religions and rituals. She’s committed to her Kabbalah practice (but quick to disassociate herself with the celebrity strand) and drawn to Catholic churches. Jessica considers that her spiritual practices have evolved out of feelings of uncertainty associated with her immigration experience, whilst a paucity of guidance about how to navigate that experience has led her to develop and lean on her own practices and rituals in order to do so.
But the ongoing significance of Jessica’s early life in Argentina and immigration to Australia is best evidenced in her descriptions of the spaces in Argentina and Australia that resonate with her most. In Argentina, it is her aunt’s home in Buenos Aires. Of this space, she says: “It’s almost a museum. When I visit, I have this sense of being inside my own memory. Everything remains as it was on the day I was born.” In Australia, it’s back to Eastlakes: “No, it wasn’t the happiest time of my life, but now I feel happy every time I go there. Again, it is like touching a memory. I also like being around people who are experiencing what I experienced.”
Things that appeal to Jessica’s aesthetic sensibilities are similarly rooted in the past. Whilst you may not know it looking at her (notwithstanding the red lipstick that she wears), she has a “deep passion for mid-century anything”. She’s drawn to the art and furniture of the 1950s: the works of artist Vladimir Tretchikoff, the ‘King of Kitsch’, are one example. She also loves the blonde, coiffed and immaculate ‘Hitchcock woman’ that epitomised that era – think Marilyn, Grace and Doris.
Watch Appleonia’s Precious below
In addition to being moved by the past, Jessica is heavily influenced by her dreams. When asked the provenance of the name ‘Appleonia’, she responded that the name came to her in a dream. That Apollonia Kotero co-starred with Prince in the 1984 film ‘Purple Rain’ (Prince being among her favourite artists, along with Radiohead, Suzanne Vega and pianist Nils Frahm) and one of her favourite words is ‘apple’, firmed her resolve that this was the name with which to distinguish herself as a solo artist.
Jessica tells me she loved to imitate people as a child and was able to cast her natural shyness aside when she performed. Emboldened by an actor mother (in Argentina) and a “stage mum” sister, she started attending auditions around the tender age of nine and taking acting classes. Later, Jessica went to live in New York, an experience she considers “an education in itself”, and studied with American Pulitzer prize winning playwright and director David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross; The Untouchables; Hannibal). But right now, music is the dominant focus.
When I ask Jessica about her favourite projects, it is the collaborations with those close to her heart, or those which have a spiritual element, that are called to mind. There was last year’s tour with Sarah Blasko, which took place inside sacred spaces across Australia which, according to Jessica, “elevated those experiences to something beyond performance…making them more about ritual.” Other examples included shooting the energetic “guerrilla style” film clip to ‘Lost at Sea’ with long-time friend and actor, The Dancing Accountant, and writing, producing and performing the soundtrack to Penny Vozniak-directed documentary ‘Despite the Gods’ with her husband, Nadev Kahn. Of the latter project, Jessica recalls feeling creatively empowered by the freedom of the project and the fact that the pair were not constrained by rules.
Watch Appleonia’s Lost at Sea below
And of course, there’s Jessica’s pride at being part of the OzHarvest family. When Jessica first met Nadev, his mother, social entrepreneur Ronni Kahn, was just starting the organisation, which collects quality surplus food from commercial outlets and delivers it direct to hundreds of charities around Australia. In May 2015, OzHarvest surpassed the venerable milestone of delivering over 32 million meals to people in need.
Jessica was privy to “the home-made, grass roots inception of what is now a phenomenal organisation.” In the early days, Jessica and Nadev pitched in and drove the truck around to collect and distribute excess food. Jessica was always amazed about how far the food they collected could go to assist vulnerable sections of society.
More recently, Jessica collaborated with OzHarvest and Vittoria Coffee in the release of her 2014 album, an initiative that saw Vittoria Coffee donate the value of each album downloaded to OzHarvest (permitting OzHarvest to deliver approximately 30,000 additional meals over the past year). Of this effort, Jessica says: “It just felt right to release OH in this manner. It was such a fun way to celebrate the debut of the album.” It’s an ongoing initiative she continues to be proud of.
The Shattering will be released later in 2015.
Visit OzHarvest’s first ever pop-up café, Harvested, located at 56 Harris Street, Pyrmont. Harvested is open 11.30am – 2.30pm every Tuesday and Wednesday until the end of July 2015.
What do you love about Appleonia? Tell us below…
