JD Twitch on Acid House in Edinburgh
The recent passing of Keith McIvor, the pioneering DJ known as JD Twitch, came as such a shock to so many people in electronic dance music culture not only because it was so traumatic, but because Keith was such a lovely person: warm-hearted, deeply knowledgeable but ineffably modest, and always supportive of others’ efforts. Keith was probably best known for championing left-field dance music at Optimo (Espacio), his long-running club with Jonnie Wilkes in Glasgow, but he had been active as a DJ since the 1980s in Edinburgh. It was there that he co-founded Pure, a club that raised the standard for cutting-edge electronic music in Scotland in the 1990s. In April this year, I spoke to Keith on the phone about Pure, the early days of acid house in Edinburgh and what it all meant to him. I think his words go some way to conveying the emotional intelligence, sensitivity and sheer decency that made him so admired and beloved. This interview’s going to be all about the acid house perio...