A Hell Hole you want to fall into

By Curtis Crookshanks

Photo Property of Hell Hole and Ellen White

With a new wave of creative individuals making their way in Northern Ireland, it can be easy to miss a lot of what's going on.

Hell Hole stands out amongst many other bigger events due to the uniqueness of its start-up and the crowds of people that it gathers. From the more intense techno heads to those who just stumbled upon it, everyone seems to have a good time. Jordan Mullan, the founder of Hell Hole, has described it as "the longest running joke we've taken too far."

"Hell Hole started off as a house party and turned into a collaborative DIY, electronic music event hosting various local DJs and musicians, and helped in no small part by a group of my talented friends."

I first found out about Hell Hole from a mutual friend of Mullan and I, and at the beginning I was pretty nervous about going but it ended up being one of the best nights out I've had. While I missed the first Hell Hole, I've been to every event since then at venues like Love and Death Inc and at an old Ulster Bank near Holywood Arches. Hell Hole has only grown in size ever since the first one with in house DJs and newer ones arriving.

In regards to their next plans, Mullan said "We have some stuff in the bag we're gonna be announcing soon as of writing this, but for the next year I would really like to broaden my team to give us the possibility of doing more things, beyond the main Hell Hole nights. I think this year we just want to push ourselves and see how far we can take this now."

Hell Hole has been running for over a year now with sporadic events happening throughout but each being just as good as the last. As I said briefly at the start about a new wave of creative individuals hitting the scene, Mullan shares this view on Northern Ireland. "I've found through Hell Hole that there really is a tonne of talented people here in Northern Ireland that are willing to help you out, and a load more that are willing to support you and show up, so my hopes for the future is to continue that on."

Mullan finished off the interview strongly by saying "I want to see how far I can take this to put on a really sick night out for people. Essentially, I'm just trying to be the Susanna Bartsch of hardstyle raves, as that's who I'm always trying to be really." That's all anyone can really ask for on a night out.

Since writing this, Hell Hole have announced two events coming this April. The first is a collab between Ponyhawke and Hell Hole at the Menagerie on the 6th and the second is Hell Hole 5, taking place at the Botanic Inn on the 26th. No matter whether you think you have nothing to do or have something better to do, I highly recommended going to Hell Hole over anything else to even just experience it once before you inevitably settle down.