Synopsis

In a bleak, post-apocalyptic landscape, a young boy scavenges for batteries while living inside a fortified shelter. His search takes him through deserted streets populated by bloodthirsty zombies, threatening animals, and other remnants of a collapsed world. The child moves with a wary determination, treating the batteries as vital objects in his struggle to survive. The video's gray, oppressive imagery and slow-building tension turn "Shipwreck" into a nightmarish survival story that mirrors the track's brooding electronic atmosphere.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released in October 2011 alongside "Shipwreck," the first single from Modeselektor's album "Monkeytown."

• Thom Yorke does not appear in the video. Instead, the clip builds a self-contained horror narrative around a child, zombies, and a battery-collecting quest.

• The post-apocalyptic setting came from the video's visual interpretation of the music rather than a literal reading of Yorke's lyrics. The video's creator said he did not understand the lyrics well enough to translate them directly and instead responded to the sound and mood of Yorke's voice.

• Modeselektor and Yorke had already worked together on two "Monkeytown" tracks, "Shipwreck" and "This." Yorke contributed vocals and production to both collaborations.

• The song developed through online file exchanges between Modeselektor and Yorke before being completed during a short studio session in Berlin.

• The video became closely associated with the album's darker, more cinematic side and was promoted during the Halloween season because of its zombie-horror imagery.