Hell Phone is Liberation
The new, already popular Brooklyn venue is about freeing yourself in a safe space.
Hell Phone by Conlan Thompson via Instagram
Located between Bushwick and Williamsburg lies Hell Phone, the “speakeasy from Hell.” While the name may scare off the religious folk, the hidden-behind-a-bar techno and cocktail bar and event space is actually home to community-driven safety and liberation.
Hell Phone has many party series, a popular one being “Topless?” Bree Olsson and Finlay Mangan, who wear many hats at Hell Phone, have taken the reins to plan, host, and DJ the series. “‘Topless?’ Is a concept we put together to make a safe, familial– cool but not cool– community-minded, non-pretentious, techno night,” Olsson says. “‘Topless?’ encourages letting loose, freeing yourself from your inhibitions. It’s not about sex, it’s not about nudity– it’s about the beautiful release of dance floor liberation.”
Olsson, also known as DJ BREE, who has been DJing for two years and is in charge of the venue’s open decks, works alongside Mangan at Hell Phone to book artists, strategize events, and manage the venue. One of Mangan’s passions is exposing emerging DJs to new equipment, a new environment, and new people. Olsson also taught Mangan how to DJ in the two years they’ve lived together — so the appreciation of making connections also hits close to home for Mangan.
“Something we love about raving is how body-positive and open the community is,” Mangan says. “It’s a beautiful thing to us. The first edition was decently topless. Pasties were dispensed, shirts were removed, and nipples were nippling. We wouldn’t call it an absolute tit fest, but that wasn’t the point anyway. We’re happy if people feel safe enough at our party to lose their shirts but foremost, they definitely don’t have to. The idea with the branding is to encourage the cathartic release toplessness provides– not getting people to sexualize themselves. All the same, we didn’t want people to think toplessness was compulsory. So, we called edition two ‘Not That Topless?’ because we’re so cheeky and sly. Even still, dancers were bearing it all for the world.”
Hell Phone was closed for over 10 years before reopening in the summer. It used to be a French restaurant but was a struggling business, especially during the pandemic. Now that they’ve rebranded and grown 10-fold, Olsson says she wants to accentuate that Hell Phone is also a bar and a club — so even if you’re not looking to rave, you can lounge and enjoy a drink. Mangan’s priority for the speakeasy from Hell is to arrange for legendary techno producer and DJ Luke Slater to bless the venue with a set.
“The greatest joy of running Hell Phone is knowing what it means to the community members who come by for a dance or to play a set,” Mangan says. “It feels good to get DJs paid. It feels good to give somebody the space to throw their EP release party. All I can wish for is that dancers love our club and come back again and again – that’s already happening, so I guess I need to set my sights higher.”
