BIOGRAPHY

Derek is a mixing engineer specialised in the broadcast and music industries.

Having started his sound career in London in 1988 under the watchful eye of Mike Finesilver of Pathway studio ( Dire Straits, Elvis Costello, Madness, Damned….),  he was given a wide variety of recording duties from Spoken word, World music, Rock and Jazz,  which gave him a strong start.  In 1990 he recorded “Apache” and “Wild side of the city lights” by the late Link Wray. He returned to NZ in 1991 and moved to broadcast sound with TVNZ where he specialised in live to air and pre-recorded entertainment shows such as “Face The Music”,” Mad Mad World of Television”,  “The Last Laugh”, “Ground Zero”,  “Havoc” and many more, where bands and live music was an essential part of the show.

He left TVNZ to freelance in 1995. He continued to specialise in live entertainment shows but also created an outlet for television compositions with the help of singer/songwriter  Nick Ferneyhough under the name of Automatic Ltd. Together they created many tunes for the broadcast industry in New Zealand and abroad ranging from channel idents , promo themes and  opening themes for such programs as ” Maggie’s Garden show”,  ” One World of Sport”, “Moro Sports Extra”, “Flatmates”,  ” Sydney Olympics” and many more. In 2000 Nick decided to pursue other avenues, but Derek continued the compositions with such contracts as ” America’s Cup”, ” Rugby Channel”, “Cricket Channel”, “Loreal Channel”, “Deaker”,  “Radar’s Patch” and many more.

In 1999 he also formed the band Lucid3 with singer Victoria Girling Butcher and  bass player/guitarist Marcus Lawson. Their debut album “Running Down the Keys“(produced by Derek Metivier), earned the band an extensive fan-base nationwide. Success was thanks to impressive live shows, word-of-mouth, b-net radio and music videos. Exactly two years later Lucid 3 released “All Moments Leading To This” ( Produced and mixed by Derek), reaching No.2 on the nationwide Independent Music Chart and Heat-seekers chart. In addition, the single”AM Radio” won Best Indie Video at the fourth annual Juice TV Awards and was voted No.1 single by RipItUp readers in their annual poll.  Lucid3′s third and final album “Dawn Planes” was Produced by David Long and Mixed by Derek.

In 2009 Lucid 3 takes a break and Derek continues with his career in mixing. He is given the role of Head Broadcast Mixer for such shows as “Star in Their Eyes”,  ” Vodafone Music Awards”, “Top Of The Pops”, ” Live At Yours”, “The Top Twins and the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra”, ” To Sir With Love”, “Band Together”,  ” NZ Got Talent” and more recently ” X Factor”. Outside of the TV industry, Derek continues his mixing duties for his various clients in New Zealand and overseas.  In 2010 scores the album  mix for Jazz virtuoso Kyle Eastwood with his 5th album “Songs From The Chateau”. Shortly after Derek works with French Producer  Francois Breant ( Salif Keita, Ko-Yan, Enzo Enzo) to record a singer/ songwriter  Edou, in New Caledonia. 

“Tout cela ne serait rien sans les idées, l’exigence, et le grand son de Derek dont on doit tous souligner l’importance à chaque fois qu’on peut “-  Francois Breant.

“None of this would be possible without the ideas, the requirement, and the big sound of Derek which we need to underline the importance every time we can.” Francois Breant.

And right now, Derek prepares to mix 5 more albums from various corners of the Pacific in his Studio in beautiful Laingholm, Auckland.

I just love mixing“. Derek