Start Listening To: Gelli Haha
On Switcheroo, Gelli Haha invites listeners into a wobbly, candy-coated cosmos of club chaos, cosmic cabaret and radical sincerity.
LA-based artist Gelli Haha’s debut album Switcheroo is a hyper-colour journey through theatrical pop, off-kilter electronics and emotional confession, where nothing is off-limits and everything is real. Co-produced with Sean Guerin (De Lux), the record is playful and unpredictable, but never without intention. Whether singing through a mouthful of sound effects or delivering lines mid-jump, Gelli balances humour with heart in a way that feels entirely her own. We caught up with her to talk about vulnerability, Studio 54 vs. Area 51, and the gooey, surreal process of making Switcheroo.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
My name is Gelli Haha. I’m based in LA and I am creating a world of music, performance, and art that is wacky weird electronic fun.
Your debut album Switcheroo feels like a kaleidoscope, playful, chaotic, deeply felt. Where did the idea for this wild sonic playground begin?
It’s a practice in nonseriousness. I wanted to create something that moves people physically and emotionally in a silly, theatrical way. The album feels like a maze or a mystery, something that makes you question reality a little bit.
You’ve described Gelli Haha as existing somewhere between Studio 54 and Area 51. What does that space mean to you creatively?
Creatively it can be a bit larger than life, out of this world, etc. I wanted to feel like I didn’t have any limitations (self-imposed or otherwise) while creating the record so embodying an artsy alien felt in line with that state of mind.
You recorded vocals mid-jump, turned drum fills into mouth sounds, and let chaos lead the way. How do you know when a song is "done" in a process like that?
The methods are madness but we are still quite meticulous about structure and feel. We’re finished when we’re finished. It’s an intuitive process.
“Piss Artist” tells a wild tequila-fueled story, “Normalize” feels like Play-Doh, and “Pluto is not a planet it’s a restaurant” ends in heartbreak. Do you see Gelli Haha as a character, or is she just an exaggerated version of yourself?
Gelli is me but she is also just a part of me, the performer in me. The story in Piss Artist is true. Everything about the record is true to who I am. I didn’t make anything up.
How did working with Sean Guerin of De Lux help shape Switcheroo? What was your dynamic like in the studio?
It shaped everything really. I couldn’t have made this record without him. Our dynamic is special. We’re very comfortable with each other and obviously had a good time creating this world together.
The album is full of strange analog gear and unexpected left turns. How important are those imperfections and weird textures to what Gelli Haha is all about?
Weird effects are integral to the record. We wanted things to sound gooey one moment, slick the next. Bear attacks, bonk endings. The effects and sounds you hear are the instruments we used to tell this wacky story about a girl and the universe she made up.
There's so much humour in your music, but it never feels like a gimmick. How do you strike the balance between being tongue-in-cheek and emotionally sincere?
Well, I’m a Libra, so…
A track like “Tiramisu” is still playful, but also deeply yearning. How comfortable are you showing those more vulnerable emotions through such a surreal lens?
This whole record is full of authentic, vulnerable thoughts and emotions that I have felt throughout my life and during the recording process. As an artist, I’m always curious to dissect myself and my experience.
If Switcheroo had a mission statement, what would it be?
Sun. Seed. Sweet. Spit. Snake. Surrender.
The album spans club grit, cosmic cabaret, and playground pop. Were there any specific inspirations, musical, visual, or otherwise, that shaped the Gelliverse?
The Roaring ‘20s, art parties, Club Kid, Kate Bush, Björk, the color red, childhood, Polly Pocket, dolphins, Teletubbies, etc.
What do you love right now?
Creating with my friends, going to the farmers market, summer.
What do you hate right now?
Stress, world affairs, missing my sister.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast. My childhood best friend’s sister won the CD on the radio and I ended up with it. Iconic record.
You’ve created something that encourages participation, surrender, and a bit of silliness. What do you hope people take away from spending time in your world?
I hope people are able to be present in the Gelliverse and move through whatever it is they need to move through, and have fun while they do it.
