In the early 1990s,
Optimo In 1997, McIvor and Wilkes launched Optimo (Espacio), a Sunday night event at Glasgow's
Sub Club named after the
Liquid Liquid track "Optimo". Described as "one of Glasgow's most beloved club nights", it ran until 2010 and became renowned for its adventurous programming and hosting artists including
LCD Soundsystem,
TV on the Radio,
Grace Jones, and
Lee "Scratch" Perry. Over the next 15 years, they toured internationally, performing at numerous clubs and festivals while holding residencies at venues such as The Berkeley Suite in Glasgow and
Phonox in London. McIvor also organized events in Glasgow such as Bucky Skank, focused on
Jamaican sound system culture (with Wilkes), and So Low, centered on industrial, cold wave, minimal synth and related genres. Several of these events also supported local food banks. He spent a short period signed to
Matador Records in the early 2000s. He was an active producer and remixer, credited with over 100 remixes for artists such as
Franz Ferdinand,
Róisín Murphy,
Manic Street Preachers, and
Florence + the Machine. He often worked under temporary aliases including Tomorrow the Rain Will Fall Upwards, This Is Belgium, and Betty Botox. McIvor founded the label Optimo Music and its sub-imprints (Optimo Music Digital Danceforce, Optimo Trax, So Low, and Against Fascism Trax), releasing a wide range of material including the Brazil-focused Selva Discos. The label was known for its diverse and experimental catalogue that included releases by
Factory Floor,
Chris Carter, and Saint Sappho. Optimo also curated notable compilations such as
How to Kill the DJ (Part Two). In 2019, McIvor curated the soundtrack to
Beats (2019), a film set in Scotland's 1990s rave scene. == Illness and death ==