French experimental trio Meule returns to Korea for 3-city tour

French experimental trio Meule will perform in Busan, Daegu and Seoul June 12-15, returning to Korea for the first time since a 2024 DMZ Peace Train Music Festival appearance that the band said became a turning point in their career, according to The Korea Times.

The tour marks a deepening bond between Korea's experimental music scene and European indie artists, with Meule set to collaborate with Korean acts Haepaary and Wah Wah Wah — and to film live footage for French audiences drawn to Korean crowd energy.

Meule formed in 2019 in France around a shared admiration of King Gizzard and Battles. The trio consists of Valentin on guitar, vocals and modular synthesizer, alongside drummers and vocalists Dorris and Marine — who share a single bass drum in a dual-drum configuration the band developed from their earliest rehearsals.

"From the second rehearsal, we were sharing the same bass drum. It saved space in the studio and created a unique setup that we liked," Dorris told The Korea Times. She described the arrangement as a drum kit with eight limbs, adding: "Sharing an instrument forces a real symbiosis. You feel the other person's vibrations through the kit. It's an incredibly powerful sensation."

The band released a self-titled debut album in 2021 that Valentin said was originally a demo. "Local promoters liked it, and suddenly we were being invited to play live, which was never really the plan," he said, according to the Times.

Marine said the band's sound balances mechanical and organic forces. "Our sound relies a lot on repetition. There's something very mechanical in the patterns, but also something very organic because of the two drum kits. We like to create a tension between very precise electronic sequences and happy accidents. We want to create surprise," she said.

Korea's audience response at the 2024 DMZ Peace Train festival proved decisive. "We found the circle pit really inviting. That's one of the main reasons we wanted to come back," Valentin said. The band plans to film live video during the tour to share with audiences back in France.

The three-city schedule opens at Ovantgarde in Busan on June 12, moves to Communes in Daegu on June 13 and closes at Senggi Studio in Seoul over June 14-15. The Asia leg continues to other countries after the Korean dates conclude.

After the Korean leg, Meule continues their Asia tour across other countries. Valentin told The Korea Times that the Korean crowd's energy was "contagious — the more we received, the more we gave, and the more we gave, the more we received."