On July 4th, Madonna did her patriotic duty and got to work on her 12th studio album, the follow-up to her three-year-old Hard Candy. That 2008 LP was interesting because the superstar took a break from partnering with European dance DJs -- her not-so-secret formula since retooling her sound on 1998's Ray of Light -- and worked with more conventional American hitmakers (Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and the Neptunes). But if reports from the Madonna gossip underground are true, the singer is nostalgic for her days with William Orbit, Mirwais Ahmadzai, and Stuart Price. Madonnarama "exclusively reveal[ed]" that French producer/DJ Martin Solveig is at work in a London studio with the Queen of Pop.
Why do you know Martin Solveig? Most likely because of gum. His 2010 track "Hello," featuring vocals by Dragonette, was used in a Trident commercial and found its way onto the Billboard Hot 100 in addition to a handful of dance charts. The song also has a charming video that costars recent Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic.
Solveig has released five studio albums of his own since 2002, and made a fan out of one big frequent Madonna collaborator -- designer Jean Paul Gaultier -- which probably didn't hurt his chances of getting on the album. The fact that he's French was likely a plus, too, since from Justice and Daft Punk to single king David Guetta, the French have been on a dance-music hot streak for several years that's had a serious impact on American charts and record sales.
Madonna's reps have yet to confirm Solveig is on the project, or address another series of seemingly less credible reports that she is also working with Joe Henry (Madonna's brother-in-law who has previously teamed with Elvis Costello and Solomon Burke) and British electro duo Diagram of the Heart. Those rumors come from Digital Spy, who also (amusingly) claim Madonna is refusing to work with Lady Gaga's right-hand man, RedOne, for what we can only imagine are obvious reasons.
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