Clowncore, Primary Colors, and Leftfield Pop: Inside the Gelliverse
gelli haha | switcheroo
Artist Profile: Gelli Haha
Real Name: Angel Abaya
Origin: Boise, Idaho
Current Base: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: Leftfield Pop / Alternative Dance / "Clowncore"
Label: Innovative Leisure
The "Switcheroo" Era
Latest Album:Switcheroo (2024/2025)
New Single: "Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep"
Producer: Sean Guerin (of De Lux)
Key Tracks: * "Funny Music" (Project Thesis)
"Tiramisu" (Disco-infused)
"Piss Artist" (Experimental Acid)
Live Experience: The Gelliverse
Stage Essentials: Inflatable hammers, bubble machines, rainbow parachutes, mini trampolines.
The Crew: Backup dancers Sisi and Juju.
Visual Trademark: Primary colors (heavy emphasis on Red), monochrome lab coats, and boxer gear.
Upcoming Portland Show
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Venue:Holocene
Tour Name:Where In The World Is Gelli Haha Tour 2026
The "Gelli" Starter Pack
If you like these artists, you will love the Gelliverse:
Electronic Foundations: Confidence Man, Fcukers, and De Lux.
Avant-Pop Icons:Björk (Post era) and Kate Bush (The Kick Inside).
Theatrical Chaos:Animal Collective and the "indie-sleaze" energy of Le Tigre.
At The Davy Agency, we love when an artist completely abandons the pressure to take themselves too seriously. Enter Gelli Haha, the musical persona of alternative pop artist Angel Abaya. Originally hailing from Boise, Idaho, and now based in Los Angeles, she has built a fascinating space for pure creative chaos that exists somewhere between Studio 54 and Area 51. With her debut album Switcheroo out via Innovative Leisure, and a brand new track Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep just added to the record this week, Gelli is pulling off the ultimate leftfield pop magic trick.
A Masterclass in DIY World Building and Visual Vibe
Gelli Haha has constructed an absolute sensory adventure sphere known as the Gelliverse. Her visual aesthetic is incredibly distinct, recalling a kids soft play centre drenched in bright primary colors, bouncy surfaces, and a heavy emphasis on the color red. She fully commits to the bit, donning monochrome red outfits that range from scientific lab coats to boxer gear.
Her live shows are less of a standard concert and more of a deeply intentional, absurd playground. Recent performances have featured inflatable hammers, bubble machines, rainbow parachutes, and synchronized choreography on mini trampolines. It is a gloriously unserious circus, complete with backup dancers named Sisi and Juju. Abaya treats Gelli as her inner child, proving that a completely DIY, highly theatrical pop vision can succeed brilliantly if you surrender to the fun of it. The overarching philosophy is beautifully inclusive: anyone can be a Gelli.
Inside Switcheroo
Produced alongside Sean Guerin of De Lux, Switcheroo is a delightfully deranged collection of alternative dance and pop. The record draws from a colorful toybox of vintage synths, sleazy chug, and early electro.
It is packed with instantly addictive cuts. Funny Music serves as the thesis of the project, pulling you directly into her abstract world. Then there is the tireless disco treadmill of Tiramisu and the wildly unhinged Piss Artist, an acid mangled track documenting a real life story of peeing in a glass jar at a house party. To top it off, she just updated the album this week with the new song Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep, an icy, buoyant track featuring laser synths and a throttling low end, accompanied by a cartoonish music video directed by David Gutel.
The PNW Connection: Catch Her in Portland
While Gelli Haha has been busy turning cramped New York venues like Night Club 101 into dystopian clowncore raves, her roots are firmly planted in the Pacific Northwest region. She grew up making music in Boise, Idaho, getting her performance chops in their supportive local arts scene. She even used to work for the Treefort Music Fest back in Boise, which is exactly where she first met her producer Sean Guerin right before the world shut down in 2020.
Now, she is finally bringing the Gelliverse back to our backyard. Gelli Haha will be playing the Where in the World is Gelli Haha Tour 2026 right here in Portland on Wednesday, April 1, at Holocene.
Having recently covered epic, sweaty shows from Chalk and Fcukers at Holocene, we know exactly how perfect this intimate, high energy room will be for her wild stage production. When Gelli Haha lands in Portland next week, The Davy Agency will definitely be front and center.
[ Listen to SWITCHEROO here ] and grab your tickets for the April 1st show before it sells out. [ here ]
