It’s a bit difficult to describe Individual Distortion. It’s not quite grindcore, nor is it breakcore, given the chaos present in its sonic explosions. The band itself claims to be a “ngentotcore” (lit. holy f*ck-core) unit, whatever that means.
Individual Distortion is Adythia Utama himself. Crafting music using Fruity Loops 8 on the Windows XP operating system and his youthful creative impulses, he has been active in the underground music scene for over a decade. As an idea of his style, one of his first songs was titled “Titit Saya Gede” (My D*ck Is Big), which used a New Order-style drum loop, an abrasive bassline, and a robotic vocal sample that repeatedly chanted the song’s title throughout its duration. Looking at his naivety and logic, he has the spirit of Daniel Johnston if Johnston were an IKJ film student who grew up with free socializing and unsupervised internet access. His other song titles are also varied, such as “Tukang Ngentot Must Die!” (F*ckers Must Die!), “Palakan Parkir Ormas Berak Sekebon” (Parking Lot Thugs Sh*tting Hard), and “Dekonstruksi Hati, Karir, dan Sinema” (The Deconstruction of the Heart, Career, and Cinema).
A Distorted Individual (2025) is a documentary by Adyth about Adyth who wants to prove himself and validate his efforts in the underground music scene. His method is to try to win an award from Anugerah Musik Indonesia (Indonesian Music Awards [AMI])—simply because AMI describes itself as “the highest award for Indonesian music” on its Instagram bio. Throughout the film, we see Adyth navigating the creative process, searching for a formula for market success, and also outsmarting the award system by creating a song using Minang language to secure a nomination in the “best regional language song” category.
With a humorous tone, this documentary slowly shifts its focus from Adyth’s creative process in obtaining a nomination to an exposé of AMI. In a straightforward manner, this documentary highlights the driving forces behind the music scene—from musicians to journalists—who share their experiences and findings about the awards, from the flawed nomination system to the quality of AMI trophies themselves.
With both irony and sincerity, this feature-length documentary serves as both a satire and a love letter to Jakarta’s music scene. Featuring a handful of contemporary Indonesian musicians—A Distorted Individual not only highlights Individual Distortion but also offers a glimpse into Jakarta’s music landscape, its dynamic movements, all the while leaving the audience in stitches. (Timmie) (Ed/Trans. Vanis)
Film Details
A DISTORTED INDIVIDUAL.
Adythia Utama | 98 min | 2025 | DKI Jakarta, Indonesia
In Competition for Indonesia Feature-Length Documentary
Festival Film Dokumenter 2025
