Optimo

This article is about the night club in Glasgow. For other uses, see Optimo (disambiguation).
A badge of the club.

Optimo (Espacio) ('Optimum Space') was a weekly Sunday-night club based in Glasgow, Scotland at the Sub Club on Jamaica Street, as well as a collective moniker for the night's resident DJ duo. Having run every week since it was founded in 1997, on Thursday 11 March 2010, it was announced on the official Facebook page that the weekly nights would come to an end on Sunday 25 April 2010. However, JD Twitch and JG Wilkes would continue to tour, promote and release music as Optimo.

Often known simply as "Optimo," the club takes its name from the eponymous Liquid Liquid song and 1983 EP title. JD Twitch and JG Wilkes (real names Keith McIvor and Jonnie Wilkes), the club's founders and resident DJs,[1] are also collectively known as Optimo and have toured in Europe, America, and Japan [2][3] and released music under that name. In 2011 they visited China to play Split Works' inaugural Black Rabbit festival.[4] Renowned for its diverse music policy, the club retains a reputation for adventurous innovation and hedonism. The technical side of the club has been written about in the Guardian.[5] Twitch and Wilkes were described by Pitchfork Media in 2006 as being "one of the best DJ duos going right now."[6]

Optimo

In November 2006, Optimo appeared on Radio 1's "Essential Mix."[7]

Optimo regularly receives reviews from the media. For example, The Skinny published an article in December 2006 saying that Optimo is "still one of Scotland's best and most charismatic nights" and awarded it a "shiny gold star." [8] In another article from the same magazine, the Optimo DJs were described as having a "special talent for mixing every genre under the sun."[9]

Many well established music artists have played at Optimo. Examples include Cut Copy, Franz Ferdinand, The Rapture,[10] Peaches, Isolée, Shitdisco, Chicks on Speed, Liquid Liquid,[11] LCD Soundsystem,[12] Hot Chip,[13] Richie Hawtin, The Long Blondes, The Presets, Voxtrot,[13] TV on the Radio, The Go! Team, The Kills, Sons and Daughters, Ivan Smagghe and Datarock.[14]

Record label

Optimo started a new record label called Optimo Music in January 2009, with a 7" of Big Ned's "Bad Angel/Killer".[15] Other releases include Den Haan, Dollskabeat, Divorce, Older Lover, Chris Carter and Factory Floor. Prior to this Optimo owned the Optimo Singles Club And Related Recordings (OSCARR) label, having released records by Creme Du Menthe, Park Attack, Bis, Pro Forma, Magic Daddy and Findo Gask.[16]

Discography

Mix albums

References

  1. ↑ Psyche Out | Pitchfork
  2. ↑ OPTIMO ON TOUR 2005
  3. ↑ RA: DJ Optimo Biography & Discography
  4. ↑ (http). spli-t.com (2011). Retrieved on 2012-16-08
  5. ↑ Mix and match | Technology | The Guardian
  6. ↑ Exclusive MP3: Optimo: Essential Mix | Pitchfork
  7. ↑ BBC - Radio 1 - Essential Mix - Tracklisting
  8. ↑ The Skinny - Optimo's 9th Birthday @ Sub Club, 26 Nov
  9. ↑ The Skinny - Optimo meets Super Saturday @ The Venue
  10. ↑ Not the same old new - Scotsman.com News
  11. ↑ BBC - collective - optimo interview
  12. ↑ Mash of the titans | Sunday Herald, The | Find Articles at BNET.com
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Hot chip interview - Salt & sauce | The List
  14. ↑ Norwegian camp-disco-synth-pop on a stage near you! (Norway - the official site in the UK)
  15. ↑ http://www.optimo.co.uk/music/artists/index.php
  16. ↑ http://www.optimo.co.uk/

External links

Coordinates: 55°51′26″N 4°15′26″W / 55.8573°N 4.2571°W