November 4, 2026

ES23 – Dancing With Clouds (Album – Infacted Recordings)

ES23 – "Dancing With Clouds" album cover
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Genre/Influences: Dark Electro-Pop, Dark-Electro, Body-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: We welcome the fifth official album of ES23. The German solo-project driven by Daniel Pad brings us ten new songs.

Content: ES23 is a project which feels comfortable with the harder Dark-Electro style but also with a softer exposure like Dark Electro/Future-Pop. “Dancing With Clouds” sounds as an offspring between the different influences Daniel Pad has mixed into his music since the early debut. From harder, Dark-Electronic music reminding me a bit of Funker Vogt to ‘softer’ Electro/Body-Pop with Dance elements on top -featuring previously released singles “Now” featuring Dino Serci and “Never”, will maybe appeal for fans of X Marks The Pedwalk. This work has a lot to offer.

+ + + : As Daniel Pad claimed in an interview I did with him ‘I’m not a huge fan producing the same music over and over again’ this new work stands for diversity. It’s not all about ‘innovation’ rather than a mix of the different influences ES23 has experienced over the years. The debut part stands for solid Dark-Electro power featuring orchestral elements and melody lines. Quite progressively the work moves into danceable Electro/Body-Pop music with robotic vocals on top. These songs are driven by solid bass lines and carrying choruses while holding on a powerful exposure. I like both sides of the work although I have a preference for the ‘Pop’ side revealing an artist in constant progress.

– – – : The album’s diversity, and especially the mix of styles, is not fully cohesive although I’m not shocked about it.

Conclusion: ES23 has released an album without compromises and appeals for a wider audience of underground electro lovers.

Best songs: “Now”, “Never”, “Firefly”, “Storm”, “Feed The Machines”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.es23.de / www.facebook.com/ES23official

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About ES23

ES23 is the solo-project of German producer Daniel Patschkowski, known as Daniel Pad, founded in Bochum, Germany at the end of 2004. The project built a discography of Dark-Electro albums for Infacted Recordings, including “Mutatio Ex Machina” and “Erase My Heart”, before “Only Melodies Remain” moved ES23 toward a more melodic Electro/Future-Pop sound. “Dancing With Clouds” is the project’s fifth album, again released through Infacted Recordings.

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