Sub Focus - Could This Be Real

Could This Be Real opens with classic house piano riffs and beats, uplifting and anthemic, dance music recycling its own past just as indie, rock and pop have been mining their own histories for (too many) decades. Soulful vocals reinforce the impression that this aims to crowd-please. But the track throws a wobbly. It surprises, and disconcerts, when the slower beats and darker, dirtier bass kick in. Dubstep interjects here, gets in on the act, lays a claim on the music.

From misgivings to mutation - is this dance music spawning new forms rather than repeating old ones? The playfulness of combining what seems like opposing styles certainly took me somewhere unexpected.

Remixes include Sub Focus applying his own drum n bass treatment and Joker taking the tune’s dubstep a step further. Intriguing experiment best enjoyed on a night out? Benefit of the doubt.