BIOGRAPHY
TLDR; it’s dark pop for sad girls who secretly play video games until 3am, packaged inside a glittering metalcore tornado. The vocals will melt your soul, the breakdowns will break your neck, and the lyrics will force you to process emotional trauma you didn’t even know you had.
A delicate bird in a fiery cage, Machine on a Break will take you down twists and turns as she snaps from fragile to fierce in a heartbeat, weaving stories that are unapologetically raw and honest as she blends dark electronic pop and hip hop with modern metalcore and djent. Her music is an anthemic call to people who have been hurt and pushes them through to a better tomorrow.
A 2x Grand Finalist in the Listen Up Songwriting Prize, Machine on a Break has mined XP opening for I See Stars, WAAX, Patient Sixty-Seven, and Clay J Gladstone, levelling up her dramatic live show to perform at Melbourne's Outcast Festival and Canberra's NightFEST.
By fusing delicate vulnerability with feminine rage, she proves that true strength lies in embracing every unique emotion and fostering a community where it is safe to share the entire breadth of human experience. As she steps into the next bold era, she is carving out a sanctuary where softness and strength coexist without apology.
Machine on a Break began her musical career at just three years of age, in regional Queensland, when the antique family heirloom piano first graced her home. The somewhat less docile tunes 'composed' by the aspiring musician encouraged her parents to funnel her into classical piano lessons so that the noises she produced might become somewhat more tolerable.
While her training in classical piano progressed, her love for composing also grew, and after a freak (minor swimming pool) accident ended her dreams of achieving her AMus, she turned her attention to contemporary music. MoaB had been collecting trauma from a young age and was able to channel this torment into her music journal, creating deeply personal stories. This outlet allowed her to survive some very dark days.
After much encouragement from her university friend Tom, MoaB made her first public performance of original songs at at open mic night in Newtown (Sydney), and despite health concerns resulting in a slow start, she grew her stagecraft over the years to perform at Sydney Olympic Park during Comic Con, The Sydney Fringe Festival, Sofar Sounds Sydney, the Northern Beaches Music Festival, Festival 15, and in 2025 to support I See Stars, WAAX, Clay J Gladstone, Patient Sixty-Seven during their tours.
If you like Bad Omens, Sleep Token and Paramore then you’re in for a treat.
Backseat Mafia
"Machine on a Break’s music is described as being alternative metal and there is, for sure, a resounding metallic timbre to the guitar blitzkrieg. Yet there is also an indie rock subtlety to the delivery in ‘Honestly’ – a song that crashes like waves on the beach with intermittent breaks that give you time to catch your breath."
Steph Hughes - triple j
"Huge mood and ferocity. Love the rolling intensity in the rhythm and production, and love this sound that covers many genres. Tune!"
Tits Upon Tyne
"The instrumentation is a dynamic marriage of Taylor Swift’s pop sensibilities and the raw power of a heavy metal band, creating a sound that is uniquely Machine on a Break’s own. The delicate yet fierce nature of the artist is reflected in the music, with moments of vulnerability juxtaposed against powerful, anthemic sections."