sempre la musica

“I think you will get on very well – you seem to think and hear alike...” With these words, Professor Hans-Joachim Haas introduced his students Jin Choi and Stephan Cahen to each other and promptly put them to work on a recording project together. Looking back, it was the beginning of both a wonderful friendship and a successful professional partnership.

“We have been working together for more than 25 years. Shortly after that first student project, we founded sempre la musica, a music production company connecting our two home countries, Germany and South Korea, and enabling musicians and producers to realise recording projects across continents,” Stephan Cahen recalls.

Jin Choi adds: “At slm, we bridge the gap between Europe and Asia, supporting Asian artists with recordings and tours in Europe – and vice versa. Our team finds the right recording venue, provides equipment and experienced personnel, and takes care of post-production through to final delivery, whether for digital, physical or multimedia releases.”

To this day, many Korean artists choose to produce in Europe, while European artists increasingly seek to establish and expand their presence in Korea. slm facilitates these projects by finding the ideal production environment, providing strategic and artistic guidance with an understanding of two very different cultural landscapes and music markets, and offering a wide range of production and consulting services. For numerous European companies, slm also serves as a trusted local consulting and production partner in South Korea.

The company's name has its own story. After a concert, the great conductor Kurt Eichhorn wrote a dedication in the autograph book of the then six-year-old Stephan. Beneath his signature were the words:

sempre la musica – forever the music!

“True to this motto, we approach every recording with dedication and the greatest sense of responsibility. Kurt Eichhorn's words are a constant reminder not to lose sight of the music in music production – and never to make the technology more important than the music itself.

“There is no single ‘recording philosophy’ at slm. Every artist, every piece, every hall and every situation is different. Whatever sounds right and ultimately serves the music and the artists is the right approach.”

This combination of musical sensitivity, technical expertise and reliable production has earned slm the trust of major international clients including Warner Music, Sony Music and Universal Music, as well as labels such as Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and Archiv Produktion.

slm is certified by Dolby and Apple and works with leading international platforms and partners including ARTE Concert and Deutsche Grammophon STAGE+.