Twitch

:(This page is about the British electronic DJ. For the American band of the same name, see Twitch(2). For the reggae musician of the same name, see Twitch(3)).
Keith McIvor, a UK electronic DJ, producer, label boss, from Glasgow who started his early career while running the long-standing techno/leftfield night Pure in Edinburgh in 1990 as Twitch. He later adopted the name 'JD Twitch' and ran the Optimo nights in Glasgow. As well as DJing at Pure, he was half of T&B Vinyl and ran his own label Pi Recordings. He also runs: Optimo Music, including its multiple offshoot labels: Optimo Trax which then mutated into Against Fascism Trax and Cease & Desist and is part owner/manager of Autonomous Africa, Weaponise Your Sound and from 2017-2019 managed Selva Discos.
==Links to Peel==
In 2004, Twitch paid tribute to Peel on the Optimo website after hearing that he died:
Today John Peel passed away. So many people who I never knew who have inspired me have died over the years, but I can only really think of two occasions where I have actually cried about it. I cried the day Donald Dewar's hearse drove slowly through the west end of Glasgow and the streets were thronged with people paying their last respects and I also cried today.
I can't imagine there is anyone who loves music who doesn't feel incredibly sad today. I think we all thought he would just live forever.
In recent years John Peel had become part of the fabric of British life - the 'Home Truths' programme on Radio 4 and lots of voice overs for adverts (which is undoubtedly what actually paid his rent). But of course it is his Radio 1 show that had the greatest impact on so many. It could be infuriating. I remember once getting incredibly worked up over his love for Happy Hardcore, but that was half the point really. John Peel would always champion the unlovable and after playing what I might consider the worst record I'd ever heard, he would follow it up with something jaw droppingly amazing. I always get asked in interviews who my favourite dj is and I always answer John Peel, simply because he is one of the few djs who seemed to genuinely love so many disparate types of music. He is one of the reasons I despise the word 'eclectic'. John Peel wasn't trying to be eclectic. He was just doing what a dj is supposed to do - introducing people to lots of great and challenging music.
I was very fortunate to once have a wonderful encounter with the man. He was presenting a series of events at The Union Chapel in London and as he was a big fan, he had Solex playing. Because I was signed to Matador - the same label as Solex, they wangled it so that I played records before and after the band. After everyone left and as I was packing up, Mr. Peel wandered over to thank me for playing Captain Beefheart and Screaming Jay Hawkins! Within a minute or two, everyone who was left in the building had congregated around him and he started telling the most hilarious stories I have ever heard about driving Captain Beefheart around the UK in the late '60s, including one where in the middle of the night Mr Beefheart demanded he stop the car so he could go and listen to a tree. I think I was still smiling a month later. I was also incredibly privileged to have a half hour dj mix aired on his show. But, the biggest thrill wasn't having the mix played or him commenting about how much he liked it. The biggest thrill was when he went to play the next record and accidentally started to play my mix again. Being the recipient of a genuine on air John Peel blunder has been one of the greatest thrills of my life. The man was legendary for playing wrong tracks, records at the wrong speed or using the euphemism 'This one fades in gently' when he hadn't cued a record up properly. After 40 odd years on air, he would still regularly make momentous cock ups. Cock ups are good. Human beings are meant to cock up.
John Peel - I salute you. You were one of a kind and there will never be another like you. You never lost your passion for music. Without you, so much music that we take for granted would have remained in obscurity. Without you, punk and post punk might never have happened. Without you, so much music might never have happened. Without you, countless thousands of bands would never have been inspired to make a record or had that record aired. You brought joy to our ears. God bless you Mr Peel.
== Sessions ==
1. Recorded: 2003-09-23. First Broadcast: 23 September 2003
*Optimo Mix
== Other Shows Played ==
;thumb|220x220px2003
*14 October 2003: Contort Yourself (Optimo Mix) (12" EP - Zevolution Series No. 1) Ze
*November 2003 (FSK): Contort Yourself (Twitch - Optimo Mix) (12") Ze
==External Links==
*Discogs
*Optimo Blog
Category:Artists