Optimo: Forever Mixing It Up

Dance music legends don't come much more consistently creative and jaw-droppingly inspirational than Optimo, the DJ pairing of Glasgae music lovers Twitch and JG Wilkes.

Having recently called time on their much loved weekly Glasgow party of the same name, the pair have already set up a new night - Hung Up! - to showcase the city's deep rooted musical talents.

We caught up with the duo ahead of their set at Stop Making Sense this September to find out more...

Summer's coming, what's on the agenda?
Twitch: "On the road all the time but hopefully will get a bit of time to relax."
JG Wilkes: "2 or 3 club gigs most weekends. Rockness, The Electric Frog, Glastonbury, Ibiza, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, USA."

Tell us about your latest projects?
Twitch: "Working on my label - Optimo Music. In the studio producing Scottish legends Sons and Daughters. Lots of remixing."
JG: "We run a new weekly party on Sunday in Glasgow called "Hung Up!" It's at the Sub Club. We program the line-ups, local and international, both live acts and dj's and we play at it occasionally ourselves. Hung up! has run 3 weeks now with great local dj's playing and it's taking shape nicely. Next week, 30th May, Twitch will DJ and Chromehoof will perform live - should be great. Other stuff…We're doing an Optimo party on a paddle steamer on the River Clyde and another on The Thames in London. We are also co-curating an all-day event at Tramway Glasgow on June 26th which culminates in an evening performance by one of our all-time favourite bands "Nurse with Wound" - we've called it 'A Midsummer Day's Dream with Nurse with Wound'. There's some surprises planned too for the Summer/Autumn period."

What current artists are you drawing inspiration from right now?
Twitch: "Amal Saha, Group Doueh, Chrissy Zebby Tembo, Troup Majidi, Christoph Buchel."
JG: "Nurse with Wound, The Comeme artists, Divorce, Arvo Part, David Hammons, Factory Floor, Wooden Shjips, Paul McCarthy, Levon Vincent and more."

What can we expect from your show at Stop Making Sense?
Twitch: "Lots of dancing."
JG: "Music we honestly love that we hope will make people want to dance."

Who are you most looking forward to seeing play at the festival?
JG: "Matias Aguayo."

Any unusual festival tips?
JG: "I'm a relatively inexperienced festival goer and am usually in and out… I guess I would say remember that mosquitoes can ruin everything…. apparently Catnip is a more powerful repellant than DEET."

Where will we find you at sunrise on Sunday morning?
JG: "Somewhere quiet."