NMA Publications

About

NMA Publications, a cassette-exclusive endeavor, spanned a decade from 1982 to 1992, encapsulating the exploratory fervor of underground experimental soundscapes. The NMATAPES series — a numbered sequence of tapes — served as the label's spine, each release a fragment in a process-driven narrative. NMATAPES No.10 (1992) stands as the final chapter, a culmination of interdisciplinary dialogues between artists whose work often drifted into the liminal zone of auditory experience. The label's sonic evolution can be traced through key releases like Rik Rue's Water Works (1985), where field recordings and tape manipulations crafted a sculptural landscape of sound. This was a precursor to the more fragmented, yet coherent, collages found in later NMATAPES. Ernie Althoff's The Way I See It / You've Got the Option (1985) introduced a playful yet methodical approach to sound construction, expanding the label's aesthetic spectrum. Jas H. Duke's The Best Of Jas H. Duke (1989) offered an idiosyncratic journey through spoken word and noise, a fractal narrative that teased the boundaries of language and sound. Each NMA release, though lo-fi in production, was rich in exploratory essence, reveling in the constraints and possibilities of the cassette format. By avoiding mainstream allure, NMA Publications carved out a niche for artists to innovate within a self-imposed framework, contributing to a vibrant, albeit transient, cultural moment.