Gelli Haha

Angel Abaya, the musician behind Gelli Haha, was born in Boise, Idaho, of Filipino descent on her father's side and English and Irish on her mother's. She started violin at six and piano at eight, sang in choir and orchestra, and found her voice partly through childhood jazz listening.

She entered Boise's music scene at eighteen, played in several bands, and worked in the communications department of Treefort Music Fest while teaching at the nonprofit Boise Rock School. Signed to Earth Libraries, she released the EP Quaranmood in 2020 with an accompanying short film funded by a COVID-era arts grant.

After moving to Los Angeles in 2021 and taking freelance journalism gigs, Abaya released her debut album The Bubble in 2023 and toured behind it with a band. Feeling unwelcome in her own life afterward, she invented Gelli Haha, a character living in what she calls the Gelliverse, as a stand-in for her inner child.

Built with collaborator Sean Guerin of De Lux and a troupe of dancers she calls the Gelli Kompany, the project centers red in its wardrobe and visuals. Its first album under the new name, Switcheroo, came out in 2025 on Innovative Leisure, preceded by singles including "Bounce House" and "Funny Music."