Synopsis

Zowie performs in a stark, brightly lit space where her robotic pop persona meets an elaborate physical contraption. Lying on the floor, she remains at the center of a carefully arranged chain reaction as dominoes, mechanical parts, and other objects tumble and trigger one another around her. The playful, precision-built spectacle mirrors the song's electronic pulse and its theme of human identity caught inside a malfunctioning machine. The video balances candy-colored pop imagery with a distinctly hands-on sense of danger and unpredictability.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was made without CGI. Its central effects were created practically, using dominoes, machinery, and other moving objects arranged in a pinball-machine style setup.

• Zowie reportedly spent an entire day lying on the floor while the production team reset and filmed the physical chain reactions around her.

• "Broken Machine" was Zowie's debut single under that name. The song had been written with Justin Pilbrow in 2008, before its release in 2010.

• The single became a breakthrough in New Zealand, reaching No. 9 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and spending 12 weeks in the Top 40.

• The video was named a finalist for Best Video at the 2011 New Zealand Music Awards. It ultimately lost to another video from the same production team, "Punching in a Dream" by The Naked and Famous.

• The song title was inspired by a Nine Inch Nails song, an influence that fits the track's combination of glossy pop, electronic textures, and darker industrial imagery.