From disco to Slayer, a DJ set by Optimo’s JD Twitch made life feel full of wild possibility

<p>By putting techno, punk, funk and more on an even footing, the Scottish DJ – who has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/sep/20/jd-twitch-esteemed-scottish-dj-in-duo-optimo-dies-aged-57">died aged 57</a> – fearlessly united factions in underground music</p><p>One of the Scottish music scene’s great quirks is its wealth of down-to-earth heroes – and one of the most heroic was Keith McIvor, AKA JD Twitch, who died yesterday after a short, terminal illness. In life and in death, Twitch’s aura was well earned; as Optimo (Espacio), with his DJ partner JG Wilkes, Twitch’s irreverent humour, political action and renegade attitude shifted the axis of good taste on to a broader, wilder plain and inspired generations of clubbers.</p><p>In the early 1990s, Twitch co-founded the Edinburgh club night Pure. With Jeff Mills’ first UK gig, he effectively (alongside Glasgow’s Rubadub) brought Detroit to Scotland, side-stepping the decade’s Madchester obsession in favour of a weirder palette of acid house and techno. When Pure ran its course, Twitch switched to Glasgow and formed Optimo (Espacio) with Wilkes in 1997 – and having had a decade of techno dominance, they decided they had other ideas.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/sep/21/from-disco-to-slayer-a-dj-set-by-optimos-jd-twitch-made-life-feel-full-of-wild-possibility">Continue reading...</a>