For an internet label, Maltine Records knows how to throw one hell of a party. It took this to a logical extreme to mark its 20th anniversary in early December by hosting 20 total hours of music at Spotify O-East in Shibuya. Starting with an all-night event leading into a day component kicking off at 9 a.m., it was a celebration of the genre-blurring sounds shared from the netlabel over two decades and its ability to bring this digital space together IRL.

That’s always been the greatest accomplishment of Maltine since its founding in 2005. From the start it brought together disparate creators via the web to create head-spinning electronic music drawing from anime, video games, internet culture and whatever else caught the attention of its artists contributing free releases to the site. Yet the real ethos of the label has been showing how the online and “real world” don’t have to be viewed as separate, but rather spaces blurring and often intersecting with one another. 

The 20th anniversary party — dubbed “CITY” — offered the label’s best manifestation of this to date while also showing how Maltine’s sound and scene has changed over that time. The entire weekend started with a reminder of how many young creators still gravitate towards the netlabel. Fledgling producer Telematic Visions opened the night with a glitchy set balanced between release and introspection, letting melodic heart-flutters be balanced out by moments of club energy. Not long after the more blown-out sound of illequal and hirihiri graced the stage, bringing a modern internet energy via their tracks, further showing the impact of the label on a new generation.

It was also a good intro to the sonic variety that marked the entire weekend and Maltine’s whole history. The rest of the night leg zig-zagged between the speedy dance tracks of duo RYOKO200, the discombobulated electro-pop of Sayohimebou and the dance-pop experiments of Pasocom Music Club, who provided the evening’s most climatic stretch thanks to a euphoric performance. In a side area, meanwhile, artists including The Hair Kid, Sekitova, Submerse and many more spinning tunes to a packed-tight crowd.

One would not blame any punter arriving the following morning to expect a more relaxed atmosphere following the all-night party preceding it, yet early artists at the day portion of “CITY” would not get that chance. That’s largely because of Los-Angeles-based artist Meishi Smile — the only international guest at the 20th anniversary bash — and the 11 a.m. performance they provided. Starting off as as a set of woozy and melancholy dream-pop, the set grew progressively noisier before ending with the digital flurry of “Belong.” Adding extra urgency to that final number was text projected on screen aimed at Spotify — the sponsor of the venue — and its involvement with assorted conflicts and weapons development, Meishi Smile providing the weekend’s most directly political moment.

The energy ramped up from there, both on the main stage and on a secondary space one floor up (which was constantly packed tight and, eventually, crushingly loud). A turn towards rock became a mini theme of the afternoon, starting with electronic producer yuigot playing a “band set” with a traditional lineup (something he noted was a first for him). Later in the day Avec Avec pivoted into precision rocking following a jaunt through his Technicolor beats of yesteryear. 

Far more fragmented and overwhelming was a special set from Hakushi Hasegawa, a later period Maltine find who has gone on to become one of Japan’s finest electronic experimentalists. Their afternoon performance featured jagged melodies and percussive barrages, all while Hasegawa themselves shimmied around stage singing, a newer development for the artist post last year’s Mahogakko, along with funnier touches like animal sounds being weaved into their sonic whirlwind. Backed by dazzling visuals — a constant throughout the event — it was a hyperabsorbing highlight.

As the night set in, “CITY” became a speedrun of Maltine staples, putting the netlabel’s history in focus. The rap duo PROPOSE offered a playful set that had O-East hopping, and which got even buzzier when artists tofubeats and okadada (aka the unit dancinthruthenights) joined them for a collaborative number. Tomggg offered a colorful splash of dance after, while in the blue shirt used sliced-up samples to create something both kinetic and earnest during his set. Early label contributors PPS and Guchon, meanwhile, offered nonstop uptempo energy during their sets, backed by footage of old Japanese TV shows and commercials looped into a Showa fever dream.

Fittingly, the final artist of the night was tofubeats, Maltine’s first breakout name and a creator capturing everything about the netlabel’s ethos. Starting with a special performance of the song “2005” with long-not-seen vocalist cocop, tofubeats transformed the set into a dj newtown performance — referring to the original moniker he used to mix breakcore, anime samples and internet madness into something showing the full potential of online creativity — ripping through netlabel hits such as “silky heart” and “flying between stars.” He transitioned into tofubeats’ material about halfway through, calling out PROPOSE’s Onomatope Daijin to sing “Suisei,” a solo rap number that proved his crossover. 

It served as a joyful closing passage — punctuated by everyone involved with the netlabel coming out on stage to soak it in, sing a Maltine song in the style of a school anthem and then toss founder Tomad in the air multiple times. Yet the actual highlight of the whole 20 hours was more of a persistent sense of community rather than any single performance. The beauty of “CITY” was as a reminder of how powerful a connecting force the internet can be, especially at a time when so many seem wary of it. Maltine Records remains a counter to that cynicism — it can help link up artists who might not otherwise meet and allow them to create something all their own. As the party showed, it can go even further and create something special in a physical space too.