Jackmaster Scottish DJ and producer Jack Revill, who co-founded Glasgow record label and night club Numbers, has died, his family have confirmed. He was 38.
The news of Jackmaster's death was published in a message from his family which was shared on the DJ's verified Instagram account.
He died on Saturday, October 12, in Ibiza after suffering a head injury, according to the statement.
“It is with deep sadness that we confirm the untimely death of Jack Revill, known to many as Jackmaster,” his family wrote. “Jack died tragically in Ibiza on the morning of October 12, following complications from a head accident.”
“His family – Kate, Sean and Jonny – are absolutely devastated. While deeply touched by the overwhelming support from friends, colleagues and fans, the family kindly requests privacy as they work through the immense grief of this devastating loss,” the statement read.
Their words paid tribute to the eclectic DJ's creative and professional achievements and his role in the electronic music community: “Jack's passion for music and relentless drive to push creative boundaries through his work at Numbers and Rubadub Records in Glasgow, including discovering countless innovative artists, made him a beloved and pioneering figure in the electronic music community both front and behind the scenes. His talent for mixing genres and delivering electrifying DJ sets and productions has earned him the respect and admiration of colleagues and fans worldwide. His legacy will continue to inspire and his impact on the world of dance music will remain indelible.”
Born in 1986, Revill worked at Glasgow's Rubadub label and was an aspiring DJ as a teenager, and adopted the nickname, and later stage name, Jackmaster in reference to the freestyle dance term from the Chicago scene in the 1980s.
“I never worked for money,” he said in a 2012 interview Permanent Advisor. “It was always like you were getting a record per hour, so an import from Detroit or Chicago or New York was £7.50, which I guess you could say was a pretty good wage.”
“I used to love it, even like the smell of the place, I was just obsessed with that shop,” Revill recalls of Rubadub, where he would get his hands on new promo records and borrow them for gigs, gaining access to it. noted that she was “invaluable.” There he made early industry connections and expanded his exposure to each subgenre.
In an interview with Bulletin board in 2017, Revill credited his 2011 FabricLive.57 mix, which featured Detroit staples (Model 500, Inner City, Underground Resistance) and mainstream pop surprises (Sia, Radiohead, Skepta) to the mix that “made me a DJ who plays every Friday and every Saturday , and it's been that way ever since.”
For the huge variety of music in his sets, he said Bulletin board“It just goes everywhere, then back again. Even I don't know what's next most of the time. My sets at their most eclectic would include everything I like: house, techno, disco, Italo, dubstep, grime, 80s pop and everything in between.
Having Jackmaster's name on the line-up at well-known clubs and festivals, he gained residency on the BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in 2014. Among his achievements, in 2016 he was awarded the Sub Club Electronic Music Award at the Scottish Music Awards and in 2017 he received the Golden Tennents' Can Award for his contribution to Scottish culture.
Over the years his Numbers label – which combined his early label Wireblock with Dress 2 Sweat and Stuff – released dozens of records, with early work from Jessie Ware, Jamie xx and the late Sophie on the label's label.
Amidst all his success, he was briefly the subject of controversy in 2018 after he was accused of sexual harassment at that year's Love Saves the Day festival in Bristol, UK, where he said he was on GHB. In 2019 he spoke with Vice about his experience with GHB and his ongoing remorse over the cover-up incident — after which he had personally met with identified victims, publicly apologized and taken “an extended period” to address his substance abuse through treatment and AA. “There's no manual for this,” he said of the situation.
But those affected by his behavior at the festival issued a statement supporting his return to music, writing: “He has taken time to work on himself and has pledged to never repeat this behavior towards anyone else in the future. He has our staff and the support of the festival to work towards those goals and his own future happiness.”
After the pandemic he actively returned to concert life and creating mixes and in 2022 he released the Vizor/Early experiments digital and vinyl set, which was his first full length EP.
In an interview with Electronic Groove In March 2024, around his single 'Nitro' with Kid Enigma, Revill said: “Building a new studio as a priority, getting back into the vinyl market and collecting Celtic memorabilia, all healthy habits for me, apart from my banking balance. “
“I've been touring the world for 15 years. I'm obsessed with DJing. I can't stop, I won't stop,” Revill said B.C when asked about future plans.
Revill's time on the road in 2024 has been frequently documented by the DJ on Instagram, with a trip to the US being a recent highlight. “Great everyone who showed up!” he wrote. “Every time I come to see you guys it seems to be getting better.”
He last post two weeks ago about his September concert at the Hï Ibiza club, where he said “the atmosphere was bad”. Last month he also proudly shared one of his first songs were displayed in an Apple ad.
“You can't explain it. It's a head-to-toe rush that manifests itself in a big smile on your face, for me anyway. I try to make it known when I'm having fun on the decks,” Revill said Bulletin board in 2018, talking about what it's like to feel the buzz from the crowd.
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