We Are All Optimo's Children

Thank you for literally everything, Keith McIvor

Like many of my friends and peers, I was left reeling with the devastating news of Keith McIvor’s terminal diagnosis: a brain tumour that is incurable and, baring a miracle, an abrupt end to his music career. I dearly hope he manages to live for as long as possible, and gains some satisfaction from the thousands of messages of love and thanks he’ll undoubtably be receiving following the news. To see the music world pull together in moments like this is a reminder of its unifying power, and this universalism is something that Keith embodies better than anyone.

NOTE: It’s slightly odd to write a tribute that reads somewhat like an obituary before one passes, but who wouldn’t want to know how one is likely to be remembered after they are gone? I’m hoping this doesn’t come across as insensitive in anyway.

Let’s not down play this in any way: Keith aka JD Twitch should be remembered as a titanic figure in music. He is a walking musical encyclopaedia, with a brain containing enough knowledge to beat the internet on its own, a world class DJ, curator and all round good guy.

Funnily enough, I once asked the ‘internet’ (via Facebook) if any of my connections could recommend contemporary Mexican music for a restaurant playlist I was curating, within minutes ‘JD Twitch AI’ had reeled off half a dozen names, all killer, no filler. He has this amazing knack of being able to do that with seemingly any genre or era of music.

I can say with certainly that his influence within the Scottish music scene will be remembered for years to come - as my good friend Andy McColgan once commented: ‘we [Glaswegians] are all Optimo’s children’, and Keith is the father figure we hold in highest regard. And like the best parent, he was consistently the most open and approachable person, always replying to emails, always up for a chat and always listening to demos - with generosity, humility, openness and good humour.

Read more here, via Andy’s excellent blog:

OPTIMO’S CHILDREN

Ever humble, for Keith it was the other way around:

"The people of Glasgow made Optimo. I don't think it would have worked in any other city. The generosity of spirit, humour, open-mindedness and love of a good time found in this city is what has made the club, and is what inspires us to keep going.”

Keith McIvor, Guardian Interview 2008

His impact doesn’t stop in Scotland, a fact I learned first hand as soon as I started to tour the world as a DJ: no matter where I went, from Bali to Baltimore, Hobart to Osaka, as soon as I mentioned I was from Glasgow the typical response was ‘you must know Optimo, they played here recently’. It seems Keith and Jonnie made friends everywhere they went, and Keith was always the musical pied piper - influencing an entire global subculture to dance to his tune - defined simply by good taste, not by hype, trends or commercial success.

Across many generations, Keith was a bridge - a lynch pin that could connect the dots between old and new; a champion of new talent, a protector of old; an absolutely ridiculous DJ - using Ableton to conjure mash ups that no other could pull off: No one else could get away with playing classics like Donna Summer and cheesy curve balls like Sean Paul and get away with it! A master of ceremonies, a true legend.

I’m sure far better researched writers will document the full breadth of the achievements that Keith packed into his 50 plus years, but I’d like to put on record my gratitude to him for the influence he’s had on me over many decades. He’s been an ever-present throughout my entire life in music, it is impossible to say where I’d be if it hadn’t been for his influence and support.

Here are a few highlights:

Late 90’s - Optimo at Planet Peach

Growing up as a teenager in Glasgow in the 90’s, the name Optimo was already heard in whispers across the city. Pre-internet, flyers and posters lined the streets and spilled off the counters of the skate shops of Candleriggs and the record stores. As an under-ager with a thirst to explore the alluring musical underground of the city, I quickly became aware of the big players: Colours (with all the big name bookings), Pressure (of Soma and Slam), the Sub Club and Subculture (with Harri and Dom) and then there was the perennial outsider… Optimo.

Once my friends and I had dipped our toes into the aforementioned club institutions, we used a bank holiday to give Optimo a go. As a 16 year old, I was still trying to to figure out how to define the clubbing experience. My points of reference were the stuff I’d read about in DJ Mag and the music I’d heard on Radio 1 Dance. Optimo told me there was another way. More in line with my other point of reference, John Peel, Optimo created their own definition of ‘club music’: one of blurred lines, no rules and anti-establishment mentality. All summed up by their provocative slogans and clever promotion:

I distinctly remember stepping onto the Planet Peach dancefloor (Optimo had found a temporary home there following the fire in the Sub Club) and hearing a blend of punk, rockabilly, ska, reggae, new beat and acid for the first time. This was not clubbing, surely? I’m pretty sure my friends headed for the exit after a few minutes but I was intrigued.

Around 2001, I picked up a copy of ‘Remember When We Used to Play’ 12”, which included four defining Optimo tracks - all belters, all certainly not the music I’d heard on Radio 1. By way of an example, the Golden Brown edit by Keith demonstrated how club music could have a sense of humour whilst still banging in a club - with its ludicrous breakdown that seemed to go on forever before breaking out into a frenzy. I still carry that record with me today.

Around 2000 - the dregs of Pure

I moved to Edinburgh to study in 2000, and I quickly became aware of the impact that Pure had had. In its heyday, it formed the defining weekly Friday for at least a generation. Helmed by Twitch and Brainstorm, it introduced many to techno music. For some it began a religion, with Pure Tattoos burned onto skin and those that overdid it flirting with the notion of becoming a ‘casualty’ (something I know Keith was deeply troubled by). For me, it was an introduction to the rave.

Although Keith had moved to Glasgow and started Optimo, Pure did come back for various one-off’s from time to time. It was here I saw DJ mastery of JD Twitch for the first time, banging out wall to wall rave belters with none of the facelessness that was soon to creep into the minimal dancefloor. This was Pure energy: rave as ritual in a sauna of sweat, cigarette smoke and endless chatter.

2000’s - Optimo (Espacio) pushing boundaries

Throughout the 2000’s I frequented Optimo as much as I could although not as many Sunday parties as I’d have liked. Mainly these were the bigger parties they hosted: one memorable one was at the Barrowlands where the audacious line up included Matthew Herbert (performing as Radio Boy, where he made live kick drums out of Big Macs), New York female punk funk trio E.S.G and Detroit Techno legend Richie Hawtin. This kind of programming summed up Optimo, and the open-minded Glaswegian punters were all for it.

2010 - The Birth Of Highlife

Keith and I had not crossed paths until I decided to reach out to him in the planning phase before our first Highlife party (the club night I set up with Andrew Thomson, another who’s Huntleys and Palmers Label and musical ethos was fundamentally shaped by Optimo). I sent Keith an email telling him how much I respected him and about our plans for the party.

To my surprise, I got a response and a huge vote of confidence. Keith said that ‘Highlife was the type of party he always wanted to put on, but never had the balls to do it’.

I can’t speak more highly of the buzz I got from hearing this, and on reflection it provided a catalyst for what turned out to be a defining period of my life: Highlife gave birth to Auntie Flo, which gave me my career in music - and that project is still on-going 15 years later!

We became closer after that, Keith played at Highlife in January 2012 and played my first vinyl release ‘Highlife’ during his set, another vote of confidence for me as a newbie producer. I joked that if he could play ‘Highlife at Highlife, I could play Optimo (by Liquid Liquid) at Optimo.

2011 - Highlife one of the nights to fill Optimo’s boots

When Optimo finally ended its 20-year Sunday residency at the Sub Club, Highlife was asked to be one of four nights that would replace it on Sundays. Talk about poisoned chalice - the club went from a full Optimo dancefloor to having a handful of people. We realised that the boots were simply too big to fill. How did they manage it? The galvanising force of Keith and Jonnie, their super power, one that is impossible to define and could never be replaced.

2012 - My Favourite DJ

Resident Advisor asked who my favourite DJ was, I had to give it to Keith.

2013/14/15 - Autonomous Africa / b2b with JD Twitch

I’m not sure if he read that Resident Advisor article but perhaps my flattery lead to us forming a closer connection in the subsequent years. I was honoured when Keith emailed me to ask if I’d like to become part of his new Autonomous Africa label shortly after he’d put my ‘La Samaria’ track on his ‘Underground Sound Of Glasgow’ mix compilation.

It was designed to be a charity project with proceeds raised going to various African charities (charity was a major part of Keith’s legacy - raising money for all sorts of causes, not least the foodbanks of Glasgow in recent times).

We released a bunch of records, went on Boiler Room and I had the privilege of playing a few back to back sets with Keith during this time. One memorable weekend saw us playing for 6 hours at Corsica Studios in London on the Friday and then another 6 hours at Stattbadd in Berlin the next night. For one weekend only, I got a taste of what it was like to be in Optimo, and it wasn’t for the faint hearted. To think that Keith had the stamina to do this kind of relentless DJ/travel for 30+ years boggles the mind.

2014-2016 - Highlife x Optimo

During this period Highlife was hitting its peak. Whilst still very much the junior partner to Optimo, we collaborated as equals on a variety of parties - most notably the Comeme showcase at Monorail when Matias Aguayo managed to set the speakers on fire, and at least two legendary New Year’s Eve parties at the much-missed Glasgow School of Art.

Although veterans, I was always in awe of how ‘in it’ Keith and Jonnie were - everything was very much fly by the seat of your pants, DIY suck-it-and-see kind of thing. Jonnie was always panicking about something or other, Keith was always doing a million things at once (but still with his eyes on the business side of things) and both could come together to laugh about the whole thing at the inevitable afters - often hosted by one of the other. Visiting Keith’s house gave me a chance to see first hand the amount of records that Keith had amassed, literally spilling of the shelves in his dedicated garage-turned-record room.

2019 Against-Facism Trax

Keith got in touch to ask if I’d like to release on his latest new label (the end of the Optimo Sunday gave Keith the breathing space to focus on releasing new music across a variety of labels, and the music world was all the better for it) Against-Facism Trax. I had made three tracks in Brazil who had recently elected Bolsonaro as president, which seemed appropriate giving the name of the label.

2021 - Ambient Flo

During the pandemic, I changed tack musically, setting up my 24-hour radio station Ambient Flo. Each month I worked with a guest curator to select the songs for the playlists. The first guest I thought to ask was JD Twitch. Just prior, he’d released ‘Miracle Steps’ a superlative compilation of ‘4th World’ and new age music, which was right in line with my vision for the station.

2025 - Watching Trees

Fast forward to a few months ago - I was delighted when I was asked to play two sets at Watching Trees, the festival put on by Optimo and Ransom Note, and mostly curated by Keith. As ever, Keith challenged me to push out of my comfort zone: I created a four hour bio-electrical sound installation called Hearing Trees and then delivered a 5 hour psychedelic ambient DJ set.

Just before the festival, we got wind that Keith would not be able to attend due to illness. As I played this song ‘Hana’ by Asa-Chang & Junray, I reflected on hearing Keith play it back in the day - an uncategorisable, rare, never-heard-anything-like it but absolutely incredible piece of music.

To Keith, it made so much sense. He convinced many generations that it did too. I hope we continue to learn from his way of thinking long after he has departed.