"Enfants" is a 2008 single by electronic music

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 producer Ricardo Villalobos

Ricardo Villalobos

Ricardo Villalobos is a Chilean-German electronic music producer and DJ. He is well-known for his work in the minimal techno and microhouse genres, and is one of the most significant figures in today's minimal techno scene....

. Though over 17 minutes in length, the A-side, "Enfants (Chants)", has been described as a "remarkably catchy, hype-inducing DJ tool" by Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

, and as a "great tool for DJs" by electronic music magazine Resident Advisor

Resident Advisor

Resident Advisor is an online electronic music magazine dedicated to the global dance music scene. The website won a People's Voice award in the 12th Annual Webby Awards in 2008.-Site History:...

, due to its minimal

Minimalism

Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...

 changes over the course of the entire song.

Structure

The branding of "Enfants (Chants)" as a "DJ tool" is due to its unusual structure, incorporating "no development over its seventeen minute length". The song is based on a repeating sample of "Baba Yaga La Sorcière", a track from Christian Vander

Christian Vander (musician)

Christian Vander is a French drummer, musician, and founder of the band Magma. Besides his work with Magma, he has also performed solo, with the Christian Vander Trio and Christian Vander Quartet, and in Offering....

's 1995 rework of his band Magma

Magma (band)

Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a...

's Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh

Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh

Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh is an album released by French progressive rock band Magma in 1973. MDK is Magma's most famous and stylistically acclaimed record; and although it has not become a commercial success, the band continues to present this 'classic' or 'symphonic rock' material to audiences...

 (1973). With the addition electronic drums and hi-hat, it "turns snippet of a prog rock classic into a minimal techno

Minimal techno

Minimal techno is a minimalist sub-genre of techno. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to...

 classic." The minimal development through the song invites seamless DJ mixing

DJ mix

A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. When a DJ mix or DJ mixset is recorded onto some medium, it is often referred to as a mix tape...

; Villalobos himself stated that "the idea is that anyone can mix whatever track into this track because it doesn’t have too much melody, tones or harmony inside."

The B-side, "Enfants (Tambours)", is a ten minute "DJ tool" in a similar style, consisting of only percussion and bass.

Reception

"Enfants (Chants)" was released to much hype, and received generally positive reviews. It was given a 5 star rating by DJ Magazine and was rated 3.5/5 in a review by Resident Advisor

Resident Advisor

Resident Advisor is an online electronic music magazine dedicated to the global dance music scene. The website won a People's Voice award in the 12th Annual Webby Awards in 2008.-Site History:...

. It was also featured in a number of "best of 2008" lists, including being named the 52nd best track of 2008 by Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 and a "Critical Beat" of 2008 in The Wire

The Wire (magazine)

The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...

's "2008 Rewind" issue. "Enfants (Chants)" was also featured on The Wires April 2008 "Office Ambience" chart, with reviews editor Derek Walmsley referring to the song as a "minimal techno masterpiece".