As 2025 shuffles towards its final uncertain moments, I’ve been thinking a lot about those in music we’ve lost this year, and particularly the great Keith McIvor AKA Optimo’s JD Twitch. The announcement of his terminal illness and subsequent death hit many people hard. For the extended group of people who knew Keith well, it has been hard to process the grief.

I’ve written plenty celebrating Keith’s life and legacy, and will no doubt write more in the years ahead. For now, there’s the tribute piece I penned for Juno Daily and a more personal piece, including an adapted version of a letter I sent to Keith the day his diagnosis was announced, which you can read on this very website.

Keith’s immense legacy will live on through the music he provided us with, and an archive of genuinely essential mixes – including a heavily bleep & bass-focused one he laid down for Bleep.com to promote the Join The Future compilation way back in 2020.

I thought it would be fitting to share another one he did, this time for the six-hour “takeover” I did on Bristol’s Noods Radio in the spring of 2021. That was formatted as a series of shows featuring interviews and mixes, all related to the stories told in my book. As part of it, I wanted to showcase the links between 80s/90s digital reggae – specifically the dancefloor-focused “steppers” style (as I discuss in the book, some of the most significant early bleep records were heavily influenced by it). There was only one man for the job: Keith. I knew he had the knowledge and records to nail the brief.

He did, of course, and then some. The mix was broadcast during “part 2” of the five-part broadcast (which also includes a conversation with the legendary Rob Gordon, recorded at the 2019 edition of Sheffield’s No Bounds festival) on 7^th March 2021. You can listen to the whole show via this page dedicated to the takeover.

I thought it was high time Keith’s killer mix was available on its own. So, here it is, rebranded as the fourth instalment of the ongoing Join The Future mix series (the others are by yours truly, and can be accessed via the Audio page). Sadly, Keith did not provide a track listing at the time, though he did say that there are several “wild” Iration Steppas tracks on there. If any experts/specialists can ID the tracks, feel free to email me and between us we may be able to piece a track list together.

Rest in power, Keith. In 2026, we should all try and be a little bit more like you.