Petite Meller: The Drummer

Petite Meller’s new single The Drummer explodes as more than a fever dream in pop form. It stands as a manifesto wrapped in velvet gloves. In an exclusive interview with IRK, the French-pop auteur shares the inspirations that shaped The Drummer and draws a provocative line between her own rhythmic rebellion and the surreal chaos of Günter Grass’s novel The Tin Drum.

First, French Cowboy, the creative duo Mia Macfarlane and Julien Crouigneau, captured Petite Meller in a luminous photoshoot at the palatial Château Bouffémont. She inhabits its grand halls like a porcelain revolutionary, every frame amplifying the song’s central question: What does it mean to beat your own drum when the world demands silence?

Next, Meller explains that the drum in her latest video doesn’t simply serve as an instrument. Instead, it becomes a living symbol of defiance. She strikes its skin with ritualistic fervor, channeling Oskar Matzerath’s refusal to grow up. In doing so, she transforms her performance into a statement on innocence, protest, and feminine power.

Finally, in this candid conversation, she unpacks the creative process behind Petite Meller The Drummer. She details the song’s anthemic production and the cinematic imagery already sparking viral fascination. Whether you first fell for her sun-kissed Baby Love era or her cerebral pop experiments, The Drummer reveals Meller at her most audacious and her most intimate.

IRK: How does it feel working on an album again, Petite Meller? When and how did you decide it is time again to put all your creative thoughts and feelings into an album again?

PETITE: Thank you, Martin, your questions always open up my mind and lead me to the deepest places of the creation in a magical retrospective way. The New Album I worked a long time. It’s time to release it this summer. The new song “The Drummer” is a cheer-up song that I wrote because everyone around me was in a down mood. I felt like my mission on this earth is like a clown of the absurd to uplift and overcome.

RK: Your new song “The Drummer” seems like the opposite of the previous single “Dying out of Love.” While that song felt steeped in melancholy, this one sounds optimistic, and the lyrics reflect your anticipation for a better time. For this reason, why was it important for you, Petite Meller, to create this song that will make people dance? Moreover, why do you think it is the right moment to share it with the world?

PETITE: The drum beat is a repetitive theme in all my songs, because I want to encourage people to march to the beat of their own drum. In fact, we celebrate it in a grandiose way. For this video, I went to Russia to film the Russian majorettes. They are from a little town near Moscow called Istra. Interestingly, the little girls there were so beautiful and were already practicing the dance before I arrived. At one point, “Are you as happy as the other kids?” was the line they learned to say. To me, I felt they really meant it from their own specific place. Overall, it was magical to watch.

IRK: How important is it for you, Petite Meller, to also talk about the dark elements of the human mind such as in “Dying out of Love”? How do your studies in psychology help you to understand those aspects of our mind? Additionally, how do you create music out of it?

PETITE: My PhD in Philosophy is dealing with “Jouissance” which is a Lacan term for Pleasure out of pain. This video is actually about my intense try to stay positive. I’m like a warrior in that field. I grew up also in a very cynical atmosphere, where everything you do could be better. Therefore, I was never satisfied. That’s why I’m attracted to people who are over-excited about things, curious, and celebrate life. Finally, this is a present and we have to do it!

IRK: The Drummer is a figure often represented in literature and art. What does “The Drummer” in your song mean to you and what is the message behind the song?

PETITE: There are a few paintings like Dutch painting by David Teniers and American Larry Rivers and by William Morris Hunt. The Drummer I was inspired by is actually from a novel from 1959 Günter Grass called “The Tin Drum” which was scripted into a movie. “Beat a tin drum” means to create disturbance in order to bring attention to a cause. Me as Oskar in that book using music as a protest against pessimists and bad news. Petite Meller uses music as a form of expression and protest.

IRK: What was the artistic idea behind the photo shoot?

PETITE: We shot with the brilliant French Cowboy team. Mia and Julien chose this grand huge Château out of Paris. Styled by Fode KA, who brought this beautiful drum and actually thought I’m a real drummer watching me play haha. I confessed to him I got African blood in me. Petite Meller enjoys exploring different cultures.

It looks like me as Oscar, like those dolls you got on tables trying to play a lil harmony, or a Jean D’ark warrior of optimism.

IRK: During times of crisis, lockdowns, and restrictions, what helped you to keep on being inspired for your creative work and the creation of your album?

PETITE: I was writing music with Producers Ori Avni and Marky Style and visiting family.

Now, when it began to open in LA, I started to perform at the Neuehouse and Hollywood Decades, with my Sax player Tobias and Andreas on the keys. I found solace in music and family.

IRK: Anything you want to add?

PETITE: Music makes us saints at the end of the day. Even in times of the absurd, I’m here to create new realities. Join me on this journey!

FEATURING PETITE MELLER
SHOT BY FRENCH COWBOY A MIA MACFARLANE & JULIEN CROUIGNEAU CREATION
STYLIST is FODE KA
ASSISTANT STYLIST is MICHELLE SIMONE
SPECIAL THANKS TO NAGISA & SHAY HALAY ZIV, LOCATION CHATEAU BOUFFEMONT
INTERVIEW by MARTIN RYBAK
VIDEO DIRECTION by German Belkin

Petite Meller Interview – “Dying Out Of Love”