21/09/2025
The thoughts of all at IMS are with the family and friends of Keith McIvor, aka Twitch today, after the legendary DJ, tastemaker and activist died at the age of just 57. As one half of Optimo, along with JG Wilkes, Keith not only put his hometown of Glasgow on the clubbing map (and Edinburgh thanks to Pure in the 1990s), he inspired a generation of artists, DJs, music lovers and clubbers around the world, from LCD Soundsystem in New York to Soulwax in Ghent to Franz Ferdinand. The duo's approach to their sets and their mixes expanded the boundaries of what club music could be, ranging freely over genres, eras and tempo, yet all somehow united with a unique sensibility of freedom and quality. Without them, it's arguable that the punk funk and new rave scenes that did so much to revivify our scene would never have happened - just witness the scores of artists who can trace a direct route of inspiration to the Optimo Espacio dancefloor. The long running parties at the Sub Club on Sunday nights, with their introductory hours of music for 'listening not dancing' their regular live sets, spectacular fancy dress parties and their welcoming community of unconventional thinkers nurtured not only artists, DJs and musicians, but a generation of creativity across the arts - and a tsunami of late starts and Monday duvet days from 1997-2010. JG Wilkes has vowed that the spirit of Optimo will live on, and Keith's legacy in the scene, his warmth, and his love for the music and the people on the dancefloor, will never be forgotten. RIP.
