Keith McIvor, JD Twitch of Optimo, dies at 57

Keith McIvor, the Glaswegian DJ and producer known as JD Twitch and one half of the influential duo Optimo, has died at age 57, his long‑time partner Jonnie Wilkes announced. Wilkes, who performs as JG Wilkes, said in an Instagram statement that McIvor passed away peacefully on Friday at 2.06 p.m. at the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow. McIvor had revealed in July that he was living with an untreatable brain tumour.

In his statement Wilkes paid tribute to a 28 year partnership that reshaped club culture. "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," he wrote. "Keith's intensity and passion for life, for music, for creativity and for positive change simply never let up. He was formidable."

McIvor rose to prominence in Scotland's dance scenes in the late 1980s and 1990s, first running the members only night Pure in Edinburgh before founding Optimo Espacio with Wilkes in 1997. The pair curated a boundary pushing Sunday residency at Glasgow's Sub Club that ran until 2010 and later toured internationally under the Optimo name. Known for an ecumenical music...