7 Mountain Records | About 7MNTN

7MNTN doesn’t make CD’s. 7MNTN creates ego documents.

7MNTN is an independent Dutch record label for classical music focussing primarily on the ego of the musicians. Though the word ‘ego’ has strong negative connotations, with selfishness, with arrogance, with self-love: all these things, 7MNTN is not. But we do concentrate on the egos of our recording artists. “We are interested in who they are, where they come from, where they’re going, why they do what they do. We want to create a product representing all these things. It may take the form of a CD, but it is more than that.”

Ego documents are autobiographical. They tell the story of the author. This is exactly what 7MNTN aims to do: telling the musician’s story. Dutch historian Jacques Presser coined the term ‘ego document in 1955. It denotes a group of sources, such as diaries, letters and travelogues. CD’s are not traditionally grouped under this term. And they shouldn’t, generally. But, 7MNTN’s CD’s, they are ego documents. Our CD’s tell the story of the artist, and his/her personal relationship to the music s/he plays.

What’s in a name?

7MNTN stands for 7 Mountain Records. The label’s name is a literal translation of the name of the street 7MNTN’s label owner Frerik de Jong and 7MNTN graphic legend Herco Dijk grew up: the Zevenberg (Veldhoven, Holland). “Our CD’s are all about the artists’ stories, but the name of the label is about our own story.”

How we work

A musician who records with 7MNTN gets a musical carte blanche to choose exactly the music s/he wants to record. A 7MNTN CD puts musical identity on the forefront. It takes a closer look at both music and musician. We want to make more than just a great listening experience. We want to tell a personal story. A musician’s story.

The creation of the musicians’ ego document consists of 5 phases: inspiring – recording – editing – becoming a physical product – promoting.
During this process dialogue is essential to bring the musicians’ ideas to life.

First phase – inspiring, collecting, programming
Right from the start, musicians are free in their musical program they want to present. Frerik: “I live for music, I love musicians. That’s the reason why I’m making recordings for a decade now and why I started this label for classical music. If an ensemble or soloist has vibrant ideas s/he wants to eternalize on a CD, personally I find it of less importance which composers we’re talking about; unknown, undervalued, I actually don’t care. If music is played with true spirit; that’s what I’m aiming at with 7MNTN.”

Recording
At the first level, Frerik leads the recording process. Frerik worked with countless ensembles and soloists. His experience as a recording producer, paired with his vast knowledge of classical music and his background as a classical pianist all contribute to a smooth, but provoking recording process. “During the recording sessions I strive to create a productive and lively working environment, in which musicians can challenge themselves to make the best performance possible. I actively support them in that, by giving direction to the session. I feel lucky I was able to work with top-notch musicians and ensembles like Caspar Vos, Lucia Swarts, Willem Brons, Daniël van der Hoeven, Peter Nilsson, Maria Fiselier and Cello Octet Amsterdam. Just listening to them learns you so much about the profession of music making; it makes my job satisfying and addictive.”

Editing
After the recording, Frerik retreats to his studio to edit the music. This process is solitary and asks for great focus, however, he does keep in close contact with the musicians. “Editing music is much more than choosing which bits of music to use: it involves making deeply musical choices. This is often underestimated, you can really help a musician lift his performance if the editing is done smartly and with great care.”

Becoming a CD and promoting
Finally, a CD is made. Frerik strongly believes in physical manifestations of music, such as CD’s and records. “I love music, but I love musicians just as much. Who they are, why they make certain choices, both in choosing repertoire and in playing it the way they do. Those are the things I want to put in the limelight. I believe that a personal portrait of a musician is best offered by a physical object like a CD, rather than, for example, only downloadable tracks. This is why we choose to make CD’s in this day and age.”

It’s not just the story that matters: it’s the packaging as well. The physical representation of a CD for 7MNTN consists of two layers: visuals and text. We work with a small group of cutting edge graphic artists, photographers and text writers, selected specifically for each project. All creatives follow the label’s philosophy of putting the human behind the artist central.

7MNTN co-operates with a professional and experienced press agent and has a contract with an international distributor. Productions are published in digital format too, on e.g. Spotify, iTunes and Qobuz.

You can be confident your production will get noticed!

About Frerik de Jong, label owner and recording producer
(have a look also at kleinmanaudio.nl)

Frerik de Jong is a very straightforward man: music, that’s his big devotion in life. In every way. He loves recreating music, by building speakers. He loves consuming music, by listening to everything from Allegri to Quincy Jones. He loves making music, as an enthusiastic pianist. But of all he loves working with music and musicians. By recording them.

He developed his blossoming recording practice already during his Music Registration study at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. After finishing his degree, he vastly expanded his practice. Also known as Kleinman Audio, he has now worked with many major Dutch artists. Major highlights so far are the Edison nomination with the Ebonit Saxophone Quartet in 2016 and in 2014: a ‘Gouden Kalf’ (Dutch Oscar) for best film music (which Frerik recorded) with composer Christiaan Verbeek. (All the 7MNTN-productions also received raving reviews.)

Frerik: “I’m a pianist originally, although not a very active one any more. Maybe because of that I love music that’s being played without too much fringe, but with a clear understanding of rhythm, function and soul.”

But he wanted more: “From the beginning of my career I wanted to express the inner fire of the musicians. Just recording them felt too limiting: I simply did what I was assigned to do. By starting my own label, I can collaborate much more closely with my musicians. I now can create a dialogue from inspiration to an actual final product.”

So, in 2014, Frerik took the leap. He asked two of his closest and talented friends to join his dream: graphic designer Herco Dijk and writer Marten van der Meulen (who co-operated with the majority of productions and still support the label occasionally).

7MNTN was born: A label with a strong philosophy of putting the artist first.