Discover the Quiet, Intimate World of Hannah + Gabi

Music has the power to move you, and, depending on what you’re listening to, stir emotions from within. Emotions stirred when you listen to Hannah + Gabi’s songs are of the less volatile variety; if anything, they make you pause whatever you’re doing, listen intently, and temper that bout of anger you felt a while ago. In an immensely satisfying harmonic interplay, fluid melodies are complemented by rich harmonies and lyrics seemingly written by a kindred soul who wears his heart on his sleeve. And while some of the sentiments conveyed in some of the verses make you feel a little lonely, you can’t help yourself from smiling, still melancholic at one point, smitten by and giddy at another. 

Hannah + Gabi is Mikey Amistoso’s solo project which he started in 2010. Amistoso is popularly known as the bassist and vocalist for Filipino rock band Ciudad. He is also a huge fan of The Lemonheads, hence the pseudonym derived from one of the band’s songs. 

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Mikey, aka Hannah + Gabi, talks more about why he named himself as such, coming to terms with the fact that he needed to go solo, and everything else in between, as well as his favorite Hannah + Gabi tracks from his newly released self-titled LP–in this online interview.  

Photo by Jill Tan Radovan.

Why go solo? Ciudad is such a great band

In 2008, I wrote this song called "Everything Refuses to Move" and recorded a demo. I really loved it. It was a quiet, intimate song, and it was different from all the songs I've written before. I tried to present it to my band Ciudad, but everyone didn't really know what to do with it and how to re-arrange it. Ciudad is primarily a rock band after all, and my demo was fine as it was. Eventually, I started writing more songs like “Everything Refuses to Move,” more of that same quiet, folk-y vibe. My then-girlfriend (and now, wife) Marian helped finish a few of the songs with me. I felt that musically and lyrically, these songs we came up with more or less had the same theme. So I decided they needed to be compiled and released under a different name.

Why did you decide to name your solo project after a song by The Lemonheads?

I definitely didn't want to release them as Mikey Amistoso. A solo guy with an acoustic guitar? I was afraid to be bunched up with "acoustic artists" (at the time) like Paolo Santos, Nyoy Volante, Jimmy Bondoc, etc. (It was technically still the 2000s, the late 2000s, so that phase in OPM was still fresh in people's minds.) And besides, this is miles away from what they were doing.

So I said, why not confuse people and not make it obvious that this is just one person? So I tried coming up with vague names. I figured two names would be great, like the movies I loved in the 90s—Frankie & Johnny, Benny & Joon, Thelma & Louise. Then it was my friend Ramon De Veyra who said, "You're the biggest Lemonheads fan here. So why not name it after Evan Dando's song "Hannah & Gabi?" So there it was. I just changed the & to a +, because...I don't know. Now there are famous OPM artists like Ben & Ben, Leanne & Naara, they also hold acoustic guitars. I just want to say, "hey I was there first!"

How is your approach for Hannah + Gabi different from what you do with Ciudad?

I'm very much influenced by Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens, Rebecca Gates, Grizzly Bear, and The Beatles, and although these are also evident in some of the things I did for Ciudad, I try to pour most of this palette into the Hannah + Gabi stuff. Lush, mostly acoustic and minimalist instrumentation: guitar, piano, some ambient sounds, minimal drums. I'd say Hannah + Gabi is more subdued than Ciudad where we can go all the way with the snarky tongue-in-cheekiness and rowdiness. 

But it doesn't have to be minimalist all the time. Sometimes the songs start small but then explode into something big (an example is the song "Winter"). I don't have a particularly captivating voice, but I found out that in recordings, when they are layered on top of each other ten-fold and sung in the most honest and earnest way possible, it's a formidable weapon. But this leaves me pretty much screwed up during live performances when my voice is once again left alone without the magic of overdubs. Hence I included my best friend and constant musical collaborator, Jazz Nicolas in the live shows, just to try and compensate for the lack of vocal sorcery.

Photo by Backspacer Records.

Tell us about your new record and finally making it happen.

Hannah + Gabi released 2 albums: Haha Yes in 2010 (which includes the actual "demo" of “Everything Refuses to Move,” unchanged and untouched) and Years Gone in 2015. Sometime during the pandemic, I met Rob and Tasha Tuazon of Backspacer Records online. They were big fans of Ciudad and somehow they wanted to release a Ciudad LP. So we made that happen (the Ciudad self-titled LP is also available at Backspacer Records). 

I took a chance and asked them if they'd be open to release a Hannah + Gabi LP as well. They were really kind to say yes. So here it is. It would be ideal to release both albums on vinyl, but I would never assume that I'd get two chances with Backspacer Records, so I decided to just release one for now. I hand-picked what I believe to be the best songs from both albums and released them sort of like an "An Introduction to Hannah + Gabi" compilation. Who knows, maybe in the future I'd get to release the entire Haha Yes and Years Gone albums on vinyl.

Tell us about some of your favorite Hannah + Gabi songs and why you love them.

“Everything Refuses to Move.” This one of course. It started the whole Hannah + Gabi project. And it's pretty much the template of what this project sounds like.

“Waiting for the Rainfall.”  I had fun layering vocals on this one. I even put on some vocals and harmonies in reverse in the recordings and they all worked out well. 

“New Window.” A very quiet song about my room (when I was single). It just has that one looping hook/melody all throughout the song. This was featured in Marie Jamora's film "Ang Nawawala" and introduced my music to new audiences.

“Finlegs.” Written like true fantasy. It's about a boy having a secret meeting with a mermaid in an isolated beach shore when it's still dark and the sun is still just about to rise. I imagine the mermen royal guard and escorts lined up in formation and singing the very low "mmmmm's" while the beautiful mermaid swims to shore to meet up with the mortal.

“Winter.” I like how this starts small but then in the middle, it explodes and soars into every direction, and then gets back to being small.

“Thoughts They Disappear.” A song I wrote when I was having a musical mental block. So I wrote about that topic—my mental block. The last three lines of the song—"You are the earth, You are the day, We'll fall in love”—is sort of like my prayer to God, admitting that He's the provider of my talents, and that mental block or no mental block, I submit myself to Him.

The album launch, held last February 25, was an intimate gathering of loyal Hannah+ Gabi fans and friends of the artist. It was a preview of what to expect from the album: a light-hearted yet introspective retelling of past experiences, a satisfying revelation of genuine sentiments juxtaposed with undeniable musical talent. 

The Itchyworms’ Jazz Nicolas, who recorded drum tracks for one of the tracks on the Hannah + Gabi album, played an electric piano and sang back-up vocals alongside Amistoso during the launch, filling in elements that the latter almost single-handedly created for his record. Apart from Nicolas, Geri Gil and former Ang Bandang Shirley vocalist Selena Davis lent their vocal chops for the album, too, which was mastered by none other than Ely Buendia. 

Hannah + Gabi’s self-titled album is exclusively available through Backspacer Records.