There was a time not that long ago where the internet actually felt fun. More than that, the web was an honest-to-goodness alternative from mainstream culture, where once-overlooked voices and perspectives could flourish. Maltine Records existed within these online salad days, starting in 2005 as a place for fledgling electronic artists to share songs for free. Alongside the then-nascent ecosystem of bulletin boards and Japanese video site Nico Nico Douga, something like an alternate-universe music scene in the country.

What that netlabel and others like it truly managed in the late 2000s and early 2010s was a connection transcending the internet. The online nature of an operation like Maltine meant creators with a shared interest in breakcore, anime, Yasutaka Nakata, Warp, J-pop and who knows whatever other far-flung sounds caught their fancy could connect and create a world. 

Someone in the heart of Tokyo could link up with a producer in the newtowns surrounding Kobe, or a bass fanatic in Sapporo, or a nu-metal-inspired creative in Los Angeles. That alone would make for a compelling story, but the fact Maltine parlayed this into good-as-hell IRL parties makes it even better.

Maltine opts to spotlight this very connection on CITY, a compilation released last week to celebrate its 20th anniversary ahead of a giga-sized party in the heart of the capital. Across 20 tracks finding pairs of creators teaming up to create original songs, the defining spirit of the netlabel and the internet-music scene of the early 2010s beats through, reminding both of the exhilarating days when Maltine could exist as something of an escape from the mainstream and of how that energy perseveres.

It’s also a hell of a way for Maltine to flex its musical history. Let’s move away from all the “magic of the old internet” stuff for a second — this netlabel helped produce some legitimately influential and generally big names, whether they now exist primarily in the spotlight or wow behind the boards. CITY starts with tofubeats teaming up with duo RYOKO2000 for the melancholy bounce of “somewhere in the city,” showcasing the prior’s vocal dexterity and the latter’s floor-focused acumen. Club staples Carpainter and Dj Wildparty get into the groove on the delirious funk of “Disco Decades,” while PARKGOLF and Pasocom Music Club go wonky on the vocal-sample fever dream “Konichiwa, Matane.” 

As a history lesson, CITY highlights the Maltine arc from beginning to end, giving space to early contributors such as Gassyoh and Mikeneko Homeless, all the way up to younger names like uku kasai and illequal, acts whose fragmented sound surely was shaped by the netlabel era. Some of the best moments on the comp arrive from letting both sides come together. Veteran producer and Hyperdub associate Quarta330 teams up with rising internet whizkid Telematic Visions on “breezin sand (step),” and the wispy shuffle carries the prior’s creative perspective on rhythms and the latter’s emotion-rich synth melodies, forming something new.

Really, that’s Maltine at its best, allowing creators who otherwise wouldn’t have had space to share their works become part of a bigger community at the forefront of tinkering with electronic music in the country. Some of the highs on CITY remind of the netlabel’s finest moments, whether via Tokyo’s LLLL and LA’s Meishi Smile reconnecting to create a swooping piece of catharsis, or Pa’s Lam System joining up with SONTAKK (a hyper-speed alias of Maltine staple Miii) to make the set’s most rave-ready release, complete with cartoon sound effects buried underneath. 

In 2025, all music is internet music, unless you really don’t want it to be and go to lengths to hide it. A “netlabel” functions much differently today as a result, and what Maltine Records managed after forming in 2005 wouldn’t be possible in modern times. What CITY reminds in both sound and theme is that what makes Maltine special isn’t simply being online, but rather tapping into the promise the web once provided the arts. It has changed…but as they show here, the unity that defined it can still flourish.