Jacno — Rectangle

JUL 01 1980 · 12:00

Jacno — Rectangle (1980) Director: Olivier Assayas Era: French Post-Punk Synthpop Transition (1979–1981) - Jacno's 'Rectangle' represents the pivotal moment when French punk disintegrated into minimalist electronic pop, capturing the Paris underground scene's shift from guitar-driven aggression toward synthesizer-led experimentalism on the cusp of the 1980s decade. Exceptional archival value as one of the earliest documented French music videos, directed by a filmmaker who would become one of France's most significant auteurs. The intersection of Jacno's pioneering synthpop with Assayas's embryonic visual language makes this a rare dual-provenance artifact. Its warm, high-contrast, minimalist film aesthetics are a direct document of the Paris underground circa 1980, and the video's preservation in 2K restoration underscores its recognized cultural importance. Context: Jacno (Denis Quilliard, 1957–2009) was a founding member of The Stinky Toys, widely regarded as France's first punk band, before pivoting to solo synthesizer-driven work in 1979. 'Rectangle,' recorded on a Korg MS-10 and Rickenbacker and released on the independent Dorian/Celluloid label, became a landmark of early French electronic pop — deceptively simple, instrumentally sparse, and deeply influential on the French electronic sound of the 1980s. The video, made by the then-unknown Olivier Assayas in Paris's Beaugrenelle district in 1980, embodies the DIY, low-budget underground aesthetic of the era's independent music scene. The track later gained international recognition when Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino sampled it for his 1999 hit 'La Passion,' reaching number one in Austria and Belgium. Director notes: The 'Rectangle' music video was produced in 1980 as part of a two-video short titled 'Rectangle - Deux chansons de Jacno,' which also included 'Anne cherchait l'amour.' It was shot in the Beaugrenelle district of Paris. The synthesizers featured in the video were borrowed from the French New Wave group Mathématiques Modernes. The project represented one of Assayas's very earliest directorial works, predating his feature debut by six years. The film has since been restored in 2K and included in the Arrow Academy Blu-ray compilation 'The Early Films of Olivier Assayas.' Assayas's early aesthetic — raw, improvisational, influenced by punk rock and the Nouvelle Vague — is fully evident in this minimalist, non-commercial production.