Keith McIvor aka Optimo’s JD Twitch (RIP)
26 September 2025
Unbelievably sad about the passing of Keith McIvor aka Optimo’s JD Twitch. I’ve spent the best part of a week trying to process the news, while reflecting on exactly what this gentle giant of a man meant to me over the thirty odd years that I got to know him a little. He was an unending source of inspiration and, while we were by no means close, I still considered him a friend.
There’s a well-known saying among Glaswegian musicians: “we are all Optimo’s children.” In Edinburgh, there’s a sizeable chunk of us who are Pure’s children and I’m definitely among them. He had a fraternal or avuncular presence of sorts – someone I admired greatly and whose counsel or praise I would occasionally seek. I’m clearly not alone here.
It’s quite hard to over-state the impact Pure had on a young mind like mine, after I stumbled down those stairs into the basement of The Venue for the first time, in September ‘93. Suffice to say, I would not have chosen the path I did in life and I’m sure I wouldn’t still be in Edinburgh now, were it not for Keith, not to mention Andy (‘Brainstorm’) and the rest of their crew: Russ (‘Dribbler’ aka For Mankind), Rock, Ewan and ‘The Bill’ (whatever happened to The Bill?!).
Photo: Kris Walker
Much like Optimo a few years later, Pure was a magical, occasionally ineffable experience. It changed the course of many more lives than just mine. During my first two years in Edinburgh, I was there every Friday night almost without fail (and what consternation I would feel when I did miss a night – I studied abroad in my third year and the vibe had shifted by the time I returned). At that time (‘93-95), it was always packed: sweat dripping off the walls, from the ceiling, smoke machine going full pelt for ten minutes before somebody hit the strobe, everyone getting lost in the music – total rapture; all of us worshiping at the altar of Twitch & Brainstorm (aka T&B, also the name of their slightly under-appreciated record label).
Keith and Andy really eschewed any level of hero worship (to the extent of being suspicious of any media attention) but we did love them the most! And this was in spite of (but perhaps also because of?) the extraordinary talent they were booking, and usually before anyone else. Most of these people (see below for a list of those I can remember) were just as blown away by the utter madness that would ensue when they played, returning to imbibe that sacred juice many times. It was a baptism of fire for everyone, a musical education for me (and so many others).
Keith’s fervent desire to stick two fingers up to the limitations imposed on music via genre strictures, the media etc was/is almost unmatched. That other great iconoclast of acid house, Andrew Weatherall – another irrepressible force and bon viveur of a figure whose loss has left an equally gaping hole – springs immediately to mind (plus a wee handful of others). John Peel is the most obvious antecedent. But Keith had such a singular vision. He really did do it all in his own way.
While I remember him always being quite a shy character to chat to at Pure, he developed a magnetic aura – call it his unique charisma – when he was on the decks. He would pull off such inspired blends – and with such panache! There’s a well-known story about him dropping Hawkwind in the middle of a raging techno set at Pure. I remember one highly forgettable and trashy pop hit of the week getting a rinse mid-set, before being tossed unceremoniously out into the crowd. There were many similar episodes, involving (more respectful rotations for) the likes of Motörhead, Sabbath, Sinatra, even… plus no doubt many more long since forgotten. Anything was fair game really – all designed to put a smile on your face. And Optimo grabbed Pure’s baton and took it to the next level: Twitch & Wilkes conquered the world.
Ok, it wouldn’t always work when he was really pushing the boat out with those blends at Optimo, but few DJs have ever been as willing to trip up while attempting to snatch victory from the jaws of failure. Once this talent was more broadly recognised, he was transformed, albeit reluctantly, into a bona fide goth-techno-punk star (I mean, he would definitely laugh/cringe/tell me to shut up etc). So, while all the international acclaim for Optimo clearly drew him more out of his shell, he never fell foul of the trappings of fame, remaining the same modest, passionate, kind-hearted soul throughout. No ego: just the music.
The massive outpouring of affection online this week bears testament to all this and to the brilliant light which Keith shone, for so many of us to follow. Whether via his trailblazing attitude, his unstinting passion for so much great, uncharted, or insufficiently celebrated music, his lust for life and/or his desire for a more equitable society via the numerous causes he espoused, he was a beacon.
I first booked him to DJ at an ill-fated party for the wee ‘zine i was running at the time (‘underword’), in August ‘99. I’d been through to the Sub Club one Sunday to check out a pre-fanfare edition of Optimo and was intrigued by the radically original playlist. He’d been telling me how it had been really kicking off since then but I’d not been able to witness this first hand (primarily due to a girlfriend who wanted nothing less from her Sunday night – suffice to say, she didn’t stick around too long…). He was interested in my ‘zine (he had contributed a “Non-Dancefloor” Top Ten for it earlier that year). I’d booked a hyped live electro duo called 7 Hurtz from London, to perform alongside a bunch of local pals and asked Twitch to close the night. But I really had no idea what I was doing then so only a few dozen folk turned up and I got completely rinsed by the cost of it all. Keith just turned to me at the end and nonchalantly said, “don’t worry, you can pay me when you make your fortune.”
A few years later, during a period when I was spending a lot more time in Glasgow (many of my friends were living there at this time) and often at Optimo, either to catch one of the special guests – LCD Soundsystem’s UK live debut perhaps, Liquid Liquid and ESG’s first gigs out of retirement, German electronic auteur Isolée, an early show from any one of myriad buzzing local outfits etc etc – or just to lap up the duo’s DJing and witness the unique carnage Keith had somehow conjured up, yet again. It was my birthday and I’d been pestering him for a spot on the guest-list (the Optimo guest-list was notoriously large, so generous-hearted were the pair and so expansive their list of deserving/blagging pals, obviously). But then I’d gone to the gym, without any phone signal. I emerged to a flurry of messages from a very stressed-out Keith, apparently feeling unnecessarily harassed by a (now-unresponsive) me…. I was nonetheless later treated to a vocoder-heavy rendition of “Happy Birthday dear Andeeee” via ‘Roland’ (aka Twitch’s famous laptop IIRC?!) – one of many beloved Optimo traditions for regulars – and all to envious glances from my girlfriend, herself an ardent Optimo fan who had never been celebrated in this way…
Years later, he was the first person I asked to do a remix for the label and he was invariably one of the first whom I would noise up with a promo for an upcoming release. Such was his generosity of spirit and open mind, I knew he would consider each release on its own merits, regardless of style. More-to-the-point, I thought he would be likely to just get what it was I was trying to do.
Ironically, in spite of the enduring respect I had for everything that he did, either with Jonnie Wilkes via Optimo (Espacio) or via his Optimo Music label, it ended up being a full 24 years before I managed to book Twitch again… In my defence, many others in Edinburgh did this often and they did a great job of it, too. This time around, it was the label’s tenth anniversary, we had a great crowd and Exterior was playing live before Twitch closed the night.
Now, I must have followed at least half a dozen Exterior sets at HM events over the years but I don’t think i’ve ever done his sound justice the way Keith did that night, so seamlessly mixing out of the back of Doug’s music that even I wasn’t 100% sure when the Exterior live set had finished and Keith had started DJing.
Keith went on as he had started, playing a bit of a blinder and finally, absolute gent that he was, he closed his set with one of my tunes. Having released it a full six years earlier, Web of Intrigue really was the last thing I was expecting to hear that night. But that was Twitch to the core…
We had a wee chat afterwards, while sharing some sake (shipped over courtesy of Kiji Suedo – thanks Kiji). We exchanged a few war stories from the front lines of running record labels in the UK post-Covid and then I asked him if he thought OM leant him any kind of credibility….! I’ll never forget the hilariously quizzical expression he gave me before replying. I mean, what a ridiculous question to ask the guy behind Optimo but he could see that I meant it in earnest! Nonetheless, what he said did surprise me a little: “I guess it’s a good hobby, really. I mean, some people take up golf but i’m not interested in anything like that…”
Photo: Andrew Cauley
RIP, Keith. I’m sorry we never got the chance to catch up properly after that. Scotland is hugely impoverished by your passing and I will miss you and your gently towering presence on our local scene more than I think I can say. Thinking of all your loved ones. X
A selection of Pure’s guests:
Jeff Mills, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atikins, Carl Craig, Blake Baxter, Richie Hawtin, Plastikman, Laurent Garnier, Speedy J, Aphex Twin, B12, Orbital, Miss Djaxx, Lenny Dee, Acid Junkies, Psychik Warriors ov Gaia, Exquisite Corpse, Green Velvet, Mr C, Billy Nasty, Andrew Weatherall, David Holmes, State Of Flux, Ege Bam Yasi, Robert Armani, Steve Bicknell, Stephen Brown, Neil Landstrumm, Eddie Richards, Orlando Voorn, Chez Damier, Gemini, Cajmere, Suburban Knight, Jimi Tenor, Robert Owens, DJ Hell, Claude Young, Mixmaster Morris, DJ Rush, Jake Slazenger, Random XS, Pressure Of Speech, Funk d’Void…
