Jacno - Rectangle

What this video is

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…

Why it matters

A foundational artifact of French synthpop and the broader European post-punk-to-electronic transition. 'Rectangle' predates mainstream synthpop by several years and demonstrates that France had a parallel and equally pioneering electronic music culture to that of the UK and Germany (Kraftwerk,…

The director

Born 25 January 1955 in Paris, France. French film director, screenwriter, and film critic. Son of director/screenwriter Raymond Assayas (alias Jacques Rémy). Began career as critic at Cahiers du Cinéma. Made his directorial debut with the short film…