RoBERT- Les jupes — RoBERT- Les jupes

JUL 01 1992 · 12:00

RoBERT- Les jupes — RoBERT- Les jupes (1992) Director: Michel Gondry Era: Early French Alternative Pop / Pre-Breakthrough Gondry (1992) - French underground synth-pop and alternative pop era; early 1990s French music scene prior to Gondry's international breakthrough with Björk. High curatorial value as a pre-breakthrough directorial document by Michel Gondry — one of the most influential music video directors in the medium's history — made in France just months before his international debut with Björk. The video's confirmed provenance (IMDb, IMVDb, Discogs, Dailymotion, IMDB full credits), warm-static aesthetic, and recursive conceptual framing make it a rare and historically significant artifact. Essential for any retrospective of Gondry's work or of early-1990s French alternative pop. Context: Released in July 1992 in France via Columbia Records, 'Les Jupes' by RoBERT (Myriam Roulet) belongs to a transitional moment in French alternative pop and early synth-pop, positioned between the late-1980s Eurodance wave and the mid-1990s consolidation of French electronic music (which would culminate in acts like Daft Punk). RoBERT's style — described as fairy-like, gothic, and baroque-electronic — was an outlier in the mainstream French pop landscape. The video was produced by Partizan, the production house that would become synonymous with auteur music video direction throughout the 1990s. For Gondry, the video is a key transitional document: it immediately precedes his international breakthrough via Björk's 'Human Behaviour' (1993), and demonstrates the surrealist recursive visual language he was already developing. The song's subject matter — skirts, sensuality, and the gaze — aligns with a strand of French art-pop intellectual eroticism common to the early 1990s. Director notes: 'Les Jupes' (1992) is confirmed as part of Gondry's pre-Björk French period output, produced by Partizan. IMDb credits the release date as July 1992, France. The Discogs release for 'Les Jupes' (1991 vinyl, Columbia COL 657578 7) credits Michel Gondry as Photography By, suggesting his hands-on visual involvement extended beyond direction. One film criticism source (cinemaemcena.com.br) describes the video as employing a 'mise en abyme' (narrative-in-abyss) recursive technique that Gondry would continue to develop in subsequent works, and notes the video's sensuality was influential enough to prompt Lenny Kravitz to commission Gondry for 'Believe in Me' (1993) the following year. The video is listed under genre 'AlternativePop' on IMVDb. Runtime approximately 4 minutes per IMDb. Language: French. Country of origin: France.