JD Twitch, the Scottish DJ and producer celebrated as one half of the duo Optimo, has died aged 57.
The artist, whose real name was Keith McIvor, had been diagnosed with an untreatable brain tumour, which he announced in July. He died on Friday in Glasgow’s Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, his DJ partner Jonnie Wilkes (AKA JG Wilkes) announced.
“In a 28 year partnership he changed my life immeasurably and together we took our work in directions and to places few people are lucky enough to explore,” Wilkes said. “I am forever grateful for everything he bestowed on me, both as a partner in music and as a friend.”
McIvor grew up in Edinburgh in a family who “had the most middle of the road, blandest music taste imaginable”, he later said, but after moving to Glasgow to go to university in 1986 he became involved in club culture across both cities.
He began DJing electro and EBM (electronic body music) at a club night in Edinburgh, graduating to house and techno as those styles reached the UK and the acid house era began. The night was shut down by police after a brawl between football hooligans, but McIvor began a new night called Pure with the blessing of the authorities by making it a members only event. “It gave us the chance to start again from scratch and do a club 100% on our own terms,” he said. “Out went anything to do with all the awful Madchester-related music and in came a completely different crowd.”
Pure became a core event in the Scottish house and techno scene, but McIvor – who grew to find DJ culture “all pretty boring” – began another event in 1997 that gave voice to the breadth of his catholic taste. Taking its name from the track Optimo by New York punk-funk band Liquid Liquid – which McIvor would go on to remix – the Sunday night event at Glasgow’s Sub Club alongside DJ partner JG Wilkes (Jonnie Wilkes) ran every week until 2010.
McIvor said the pair were not “aligned to any one particular musical movement” – championing electroclash, punk, new wave, soft rock and a range of other styles alongside dance tracks, and hosting bands such as LCD Soundsystem and TV On the Radio as well as guest DJs. Optimo pre-empted the open-mindedness of the internet age, and became lauded as one of the most significant events in global dance culture. Thereafter McIvor and Wilkes continued to DJ internationally under the Optimo name.
McIvor was also a producer, and as Optimo’s star rose he was sought after as a remixer for the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Róisín Murphy, Manic Street Preachers, Florence + the Machine and more (“Discogs tells me I did 108 remixes, though it’s probably a few more,” he said in 2023). McIvor also founded the label Optimo Music (plus spin-offs such as the Brazil-focused Selva Discos), and Optimo created acclaimed compilation albums such as How to Kill the DJ (Part Two). McIvor also curated the soundtrack to Beats, a 2019 film set in the 90s rave scene in Scotland, and put out music under the alias Tomorrow the Rain Will Fall Upwards.
McIvor announced his illness in July 2025, saying: “My symptoms weren’t immediately diagnosed, and my health declined very rapidly over just a few weeks … I am currently trying to process this news and prioritising spending precious time with the people I love.”
Wilkes added in his tribute to McIvor: “I am forever grateful for everything he bestowed on me, both as a partner in music and as a friend. Keith’s intensity and passion for life, for music, for creativity and for positive change simply never let up. He was formidable. His belief in people and the idea that standing together, that our collective strength is powerful was unwavering. I loved him for that.”
After thanking hospice staff and others, he added: “Keith left us far too soon. He will go now to travel those space-ways but I know his energy remains in every one of us who had the privilege of knowing him. I love you forever Keith.