Gelli Haha’s eccentric live act has only further set her apart from her indie-pop contemporaries, helping the artist sell out her recent show at LA’s Bob Baker Marionette Theater within three hours. Her success comes after a long journey of inner work and years of playing in bands in the Boise, Idaho scene—both were vital experiences that pushed her toward her current, authentic self.
Born in Hawaii and raised in Idaho, Angel Abaya, the artist behind the Gelli Haha moniker, has always had a love for music. Her grandmother was a music professor and church organist, and as a kid, Abaya would round up her family to perform songs for them. This will to perform has guided her to where she is today. Her propensity for theatricality and character creation is akin to artists like David Bowie or Kate Bush. Her own alter ego has an affinity for bright reds, adopting the color in a surrealist manner, as if her inner child emerged from the Red Room in Twin Peaks.
Her latest album, Switcharoo, is playful and novel, influenced by artists like LCD Soundsystem, Björk, Animal Collective, Grace Jones, and Of Montreal. With this aughts-flavored indie-pop and her newfound authenticity from self-work, it’s not hard to see why listeners have gravitated toward her nostalgic multimedia project…