More than music: the activism and generosity of Keith McIvor

On 20 September via a beautiful Instagram tribute from Optimo's Jonnie Wilkes, it was announced that his partner Keith McIvor, aka JD Twitch, had passed away peacefully the day before. Following an outpouring of heartfelt, music-filled and deeply personal tributes, it's important to also celebrate another side of this much-loved man, DJ and label boss – his unwavering devotion to activism.

While much of his time was spent behind the decks and releasing records, McIvor was also devoted to raising money and awareness for causes he truly believed in. Following the announcement of an untreatable brain tumour diagnosis in July, his generosity has been matched by friends, family and fans via a Crowdfunder for hospice care. Far exceeding its target – hitting almost £150,000 – it means excess funds raised will go to the Glasgow NW Foodbank, brainstrust UK, the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) and Takis Shelter, an animal shelter in Crete.

“Keith felt all the love that surrounded him, right to the very end,” his wife Marissa wrote on social media. “His kindness, creativity and joy touched so many lives, and his music and spirit will live on.” Wilkes added: “His belief in people and the idea that standing together, that our collective strength is powerful was unwavering. I loved him for that.”

A page set up for people to share memories and donate to the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice also raised more than £40,000 – including £9,500 from DFA Records, £1,000 from Domino Records and £25,000 of excess funds from the Crowdfunder. The DFA money came via the sale of a T-shirt stating ‘No DFA Without Optimo’ in memory of early support for the New York imprint made famous by the likes of LCD Soundsystem. “The struggle of our dear friend has generated a righteous and justified wave of support from people all around the world,” read DFA's website. “This shirt is our tiny way of trying to raise money for our friend, but it’s also an opportunity for us to show love and respect where it’s so truly deserved.”

Brian d’Souza, aka Auntie Flo, has just released a remix of the Liquid Liquid track that Optimo are named after, raising money for brainstrust. A long-time friend and collaborator of McIvor’s, he helped out with Optimo Music’s Autonomous Africa offshoot, which in 2012 started releasing music inspired by the continent while also raising funds for African organisations. The proceeds from one release with DJ and producer Midland went to a charity that Midland's parents founded, the Mtandika Mission in Tanzania. 

“I know the Boiler Room we did in Glasgow raised over £2,000 for the charity, the records must have done more,” d'Souza tells us. “Keith managed to incorporate the charity angle to his various projects, without it coming across as performative and disingenuous, which isn't easy to do... There was a real commitment to the causes and a selfless approach that is often lacking.”

Will Jones, Chief Executive of brainstrust, confirmed that it has received donations via McIvor's recent hospice Crowdfunder. “Any funds that are donated to brainstrust are used to support people who are living life with a brain tumour diagnosis,” he states. “We provide UK-wide support, with coaching, information and peer support helping people to feel less afraid, less alone and more in control.”

"No-one has supported us more than Optimo" – charities and third sector orgs on McIvor's support

It wasn't hard to find people in the third sector willing to praise McIvor for his community work. “We will always remember him – and the wider music community around Optimo – for their generosity and solidarity,” says Robina Qureshi, Founder and CEO of Scottish charity Positive Action in Housing (PAIH). “At a time when people seeking asylum often had no money at all and were unable to protect themselves, we were distributing hardship funds so they could buy food, essentials and keep themselves safe – their support helped us reach those most at risk when it mattered most.” Optimo’s donation to PAIH came in 2020, at the height of pandemic lockdowns. Qureshi describes McIvor as “strongly supportive of our human rights work with people from refugee communities, especially during COVID-19”.

Carol Young, Deputy Director of the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER), tells me that over the years “no one has supported us more than Optimo,” noting that McIvor was the first person working in music to get in touch and offer to raise money. “He called the office and spoke to our-then Communities and Campaigns Officer, Zandra Yeaman, and asked if it would be okay if Optimo raised some money for us," Young says. “She was quite surprised at the time, as we'd never had an offer like that before, explaining to him that we don't have service users – we're focused on tackling institutional and structural racism – but he said he already knew that and this was exactly why they wanted to support us.”

The 2019 Optimo Hogmanay party at Room 2 in Glasgow split ticket sale profits between CRER, PAIH and Drumchapel Foodbank. “Over the years, Keith would just call out of the blue now to let us know that we'd be receiving another split of the profits – they never sought any public recognition or praise for their fundraising. Quite the opposite, this was just a core part of what they did,” says Young. “Optimo never placed any expectations on how we would invest the donations they made – they just knew that we could do with a hand.”

Young continues: “However, our relationship with Optimo had a wider influence on our work; it generated conversations about the racism that's unfortunately still affecting Black and minority ethnic people when they go out clubbing. This led to a programme of work on racism in Scotland's night-time economy, funded by the Corra Foundation, and as part of this we've produced guidance for Licensing Boards to increase the emphasis on protecting customers of licensed premises from discrimination.”

Shona Simm, a Project Manager for Glasgow NW Foodbank, said McIvor and Optimo helped raise more than £10,000 to keep people fed. “Despite his illness, Keith remained determined to make a difference,” she says. “Using his platform, his voice and his connections, he brought attention to the growing issue of food insecurity in Glasgow – and inspired others to act. Keith was a true friend to this foodbank and to the community, his generosity – even while facing unimaginable challenges – was nothing short of extraordinary.”

"This gives us a platform to channel something back to the community...”

In 2018, Optimo Music launched Against Fascism Trax, to “provoke dialogue that is fundamentally anti-racist, anti-sexist, non-homophobic, non-transphobic, non-ageist and non-ableist”, as well as “to question and break down the class divide”. The sub-label promoted artists making music that openly questioned and criticised those movements, with all profits going to campaigning charity Hope Not Hate.

In 2020, they released a compilation featuring Auntie Flo and Joe Goddard to support No Evictions Glasgow, a campaign helping people in asylum accommodation across the city against evictions, reacting to their peaceful protests being violently broken up by fascists. McIvor wrote at the time: “When I started the Against Fascism Trax label two years ago I never imagined such a scenario happening in my city, but this has been a wake up call to see what a deeply racist city Glasgow is capable of being and that there is an element in this city that has to be confronted – they can not be allowed to pass."

Never one for ‘just sticking to the music’ and leaving politics off the dancefloor, he would regularly intersperse sets with clips from campaign rally speeches and drop anarcho-punk records into the mix. McIvor also revealed his growing support of the Scottish independence movement, around the time of the referendum. “I still think of myself as opposed to nationalism, I think the notion of nations is an outdated historical anomaly that seems out of step with the world we live in and the world I spend a large part of my working life travelling around and experiencing,” he wrote for National Collective in 2014. “However, a bit over a year ago, after much thought, soul searching and engaging with the debate I did a u-turn and am now very much a Yes supporter.

“I was a great admirer of the late Donald Dewar and he never stopped saying these words – "Social Justice". Put together those two words form one of the most beautiful things in the English language [...] I believe that the majority of Scottish people, no matter what their political persuasion, feel strongly that those two words are an important thing, worth fighting for. Our current system acts like they are dirty words worth expunging.”

Talking to DJ Mag to mark 25 years of Optimo, Keith said of Glasgow: “I like its down-to-earth quality, it’s quite bullshit-free […] but I hate the sectarianism and I hate the poverty, so if I wasn’t doing this, I’d probably be working in the charity sector. I’m able to do a lot of fundraising in this position which I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. This gives us a platform to channel something back to the community.”

While McIvor grew up in Edinburgh and made his name running Pure in the capital, it was over the M8 where he built the most long-lasting community, with Optimo’s legendary Sunday night residency at the Sub Club and latterly via parties at The Berkeley Suite. Another fellow Weegie DJ, Maya Medvesek, aka Nightwave, also has tales of McIvor's dedication to a long list of causes.

“He organised and donated tracks for many charity compilations, including my own – Love Amazonia – that supported Indigenous people in the rainforest affected by fires," she says. “What some people might not know, is how crazily generous he was to his friends, and would not take no for an answer (or even ask), if someone found themselves in a crisis... He would just get it done – his big heart, compassion and fighting spirit against injustices will live on and continue to inspire us all – we owe him so much.”

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JG Wilkes continues Optimo's legacy with two central belt parties at the end of this month. Optimo Halloween - Espookio made us do it takes place at Riverside Museum, Glasgow, 31 Oct, while the NSA Day Culture [Halloween Edition] sees Optimo (Espacio) & Prins Thomas go B2B at The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 1 Nov

instagram.com/optimoespacio