A few weeks ago, Madonna’s manager Guy Oseary took to Twitter to announce that the Queen of Pop was about to hit the studio to begin work on her twelfth studio album – her first since 2008’s Hard Candy. At the time, we had a few suggestions for Madge. We recommended she A.) stay away from “hot” producers like RedOne or Dr. Luke, B.) make some real dance music, and C.) use the ups and downs of the last few years to write about something substantial.
And guess what? She’s taking our advice!
Oseary tweeted that Her Madgesty began work on the untitled album on the Fourth of July. Now the first producer has been named and he’s someone to get excited about: Martin Solveig. Solveig is a French electronic music DJ and producer best known for work with Canadian electropop group Dragonette and the song “Hello,” which became a hit in the U.S. after being featured in commercials for Trident.
Remember what happened the last time Madonna worked with a lesser-known French DJ? Music happened.
"David Guetta, Joachim Garaud, Martin Solveig, Bob Sinclair – these dudes are all part of the French guard of house music coming onto the scene in the early 2000s," MTV News' resident dance music expert Akshay Bhansali tells us. "He's [Solveig] always been well respected, but this year, singles-wise, he's probably made more commercially on music than Guetta."
Solveig's good rep and ear for commercially viable dance music will be important, because this is an especially important album for Madonna. As silly as it may sound, it’s her first post-Gaga record and because of that, it will be viewed and critiqued through that lens. Earlier this year, Gaga was slapped on the wrist by music critics who felt her smash “Born This Way” sounded a little too close for comfort to Madonna’s 1989 hit “Express Yourself.” Gaga’s aesthetic is also often compared to Madonna’s.
So anyone who thinks Madonna won’t experience this same scrutiny in reverse as soon as she produces something new is naïve. Critics’ first question won’t be, “What does it sound like?” Instead they’ll ask, “Does it sound like Gaga?” And the answer needs to be no (or at least “not really”).
That’s why we recommended she avoid in-demand producers. If a producer is famous enough for the mainstream public to have some idea of who they are, then people will be able to spot their sound immediately – think RedOne’s bombastic beats for Gaga or the slick thump Dr. Luke puts together for Britney Spears and Katy Perry. Madonna at her best is forward-thinking and ahead of the musical curve; she doesn’t want to sound derivative (like she did working with “hot” producers Pharrell Williams, Nate Hills and Timbaland on Hard Candy).
She seems to know it too. Digital Spy reports Madonna declined her record company’s request to record with RedOne. “She's the writer of almost all of the new lyrics. Producer Joe Henry is involved in two songs so far. Most of the other producers are not so famous,” DS writes, citing Madonna fansite Queen Madonna.
(Having worked with people like Elvis Costello, Aimee Man and Loudon Wainwright III, Henry is better known for bluesy rock and jazz than he is pop. But he has a unique relationship with Madge – he is her brother-in-law – and co-wrote one of her best songs, 2000’s “Don’t Tell Me.”)
"He's a very capable producer, and maybe the fact that he’s an electronic dance music producer that has made two huge songs that don't sound too clubby is something that drew Madonna," Bhansali says of Solveig. "‘Hello’ doesn't feel like your average fist pump song. It feels more cultured than that – and perhaps that's what she's after."
Madonna was the primary songwriter on Music, Ray of Light and Confessions on a Dance Floor, and on all three she worked closely with little known European DJs/producers, Mirwais Ahmadzai, William Orbit and Stuart Price, respectively. It’s great that she seems to be reverting back to a formula that has worked well for her in the past. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.