Masking Tapes

About

Masking Tapes was an underground record label active during the mid-1980s, operating primarily within the experimental and industrial music scene. The label specialized in cassette tape releases, a format favored by the DIY ethos and aesthetic of the era's avant-garde and noise music communities. Between 1984 and 1985, Masking Tapes issued at least five releases, including works such as "Numb Tongue No Taste," "Out of the Mouths of Babes," "Purge Inhale," and "The Admans Friend," establishing itself as a conduit for challenging, abrasive sonic experimentation. The label's output reflects the raw, unpolished aesthetic characteristic of cassette culture during this period, when independent musicians and producers embraced low-fidelity production and limited distribution as both practical necessity and artistic statement. Though relatively obscure, Masking Tapes remains historically significant as a document of the underground experimental music landscape of the early-to-mid 1980s. Limited information about the label's geographic base and complete roster survives in contemporary archives, contributing to its enigmatic status within underground music history.