Jackmaster

Jackmaster, whose real name was Jack Revill, operated out of Glasgow as a DJ and producer whose sets drew from a broad palette of sounds while he co-established the Numbers imprint and its associated club events. Although the moniker nodded directly to Chicago house originator Farley Jackmaster Funk, his selections and productions roamed across Detroit techno, U.K. garage and dubstep, minimal techno, disco and funk, along with any other material capable of energizing dancers. Two respected mix compilations appeared under his name: Fabriclive 57 in 2011 and a 2016 installment of the DJ-Kicks series. During the first half of the 2020s he also put out original material, among them the 2022 Skream collaboration “The Attention Deficit Track” and the 2024 single “Don’t You Want My Lovin’.”

Revill first began spinning records and staffing a shop while still in his early teens; by seventeen he held a residency at Glasgow’s Monox techno venue. Around 2006 the Numbers collective started circulating online mixes and staging parties, and Revill helped launch the related Wireblock label, which documented initial output from Rustie and Hudson Mohawke. Numbers itself became a formal record company in 2010, issuing numerous acclaimed twelve-inches and albums featuring Jessie Ware & SBTRKT, Jamie xx, SOPHIE, Redinho, Mosca, and additional artists. Once the label was running, demand for his appearances surged at clubs and festivals worldwide, and he placed in year-end DJ rankings published by DJ Magazine and Resident Advisor. He compiled Fabriclive 57 in 2011 and returned for the 2016 DJ-Kicks volume; awards followed with the 2016 SSE Scottish Music Awards Sub Club Electronic Music Award and the 2017 Tennent’s Golden Can Award for Contributions to Scottish Culture.

During the 2018 Love Saves the Day Festival in Bristol, Revill faced allegations of inappropriate conduct. He issued public and private apologies, acknowledged that he had overdosed on GHB, and accepted complete accountability, subsequently withdrawing from several bookings to concentrate on rehabilitation. He resumed live performances in 2019. While global lockdowns took hold in 2020 he began releasing his own productions and created the TDSR label. “Face Your Fate,” recorded with Detroit artists Blak Tony of Scan 7 and Keith Tucker of Aux 88, surfaced in 2021 and later appeared on the 2022 EP Early Experiments (issued digitally, minus that track, under the title Vizor). A further Skream collaboration, “The Attention Deficit Track,” came out on CircoLoco Records. “Let’s Go” followed on Seth Troxler’s Slacker 85 imprint and formed part of the EP Party Going On. In 2024 Cuttin’ Headz released “Nitro” featuring Kid Enigma, after which Crosstown Rebels presented “Don’t You Want My Lovin’.” On 12 October 2024 Revill suffered a fatal head injury while visiting Ibiza; he was thirty-eight.