Before Madonna began working with Diplo and other producers, the new album recording sessions started off with Avicii. These early sessions produced some very raw and simple but blindingly effective acoustic compositions.

Our impression is that Avicii and his crew really adapted their music to Madonna’s vocal range, drawing more attention to her voice without the use of any effects or filters.
Madonna made sure the tracks were lyrically mature and personal.

They’ve created ballads, mid-tempo songs and Madonna even managed to put her own twist on country folk meets EDM. This was the great concept we mentioned in our previous post on the upcoming Madonna album.

Here are some of those tracks…

Devil Prays
Simplicity and amazingness!

Madonna’s vocals truly stand out in “Devil Prays” while the music flirts with 70ies country folk, in the most delightful way. It has a kind of “Woodstock festival” era feel to it, but still remains very modern.

Madonna ask herself how to get out of the dark place she’s in by learning how to pray and how to find something to believe in.

She talks about how one can stray from the right path by doing drugs, smoking weed, drinking whiskey or doing E(xtasy)… but by remaining together in unity and singing hallelujah you will end up making the devil pray.

Odd, simple and fantastic.
No single material, but a definite keeper.

One of our favorite tracks!

Rebel Heart
Madonna is such an individual that the more she tries to define and understand who she is, the more her overwhelming uniqueness remains a mystery.

Over a truly catchy beat and prominent acoustic guitar sound, the mid-tempo “Rebel Heart” produced by Avicii is an ode to being different.

The song deals with being able to survive when you’re rebelling against what’s been decided for you, and choose your own path in life.

Madonna’s experience adds more validity to lyrics concerning individuality. She explains what it feels like to be an outcast who decided to take a different approach to life. She reflects on how she lived hers like a masochist, alone, unable to fit in, unready and unwilling to do what society and her dad expected from her.

So she says she “took a road less travelled by, barely made it out alive, but through the darkness I survived.”

Madonna also reflects on how narcissistic she once was, and how she did everything just to be seen.
But once she had outgrown her past and started again, she never looked back and finally found herself… a rebel heart.

Great song, like most of Avicii’s work on this album.

(source: Madonnarama)

badujunkie said:

SoulAlive said:

I think she should release two albums....one can be the more 'serious'/introspective one,while the other can be the 'fun' album.

Maybe two EPs?

I think MDNA proved that the too many b-side tracks should stay just that...b-sides. Great idea, tho.

I think that two of those B-sides---"Beautiful Killer" and "Best Friend"---are GREAT

SoulAlive said:

badujunkie said:

Maybe two EPs?

I think MDNA proved that the too many b-side tracks should stay just that...b-sides. Great idea, tho.

I think that two of those B-sides---"Beautiful Killer" and "Best Friend"---are GREAT

I love both of those. It's the other drek + shit like "History" "Superpop" and all the others on the MDNA 'bonus' disc - "I Fucked Up," "Bday Song" + then throwaways like "Superstar" or shit like "Broken Im sorry" that makes me say this.

badujunkie said:

SoulAlive said:

I think that two of those B-sides---"Beautiful Killer" and "Best Friend"---are GREAT

I love both of those. It's the other drek + shit like "History" "Superpop" and all the others on the MDNA 'bonus' disc - "I Fucked Up," "Bday Song" + then throwaways like "Superstar" or shit like "Broken Im sorry" that makes me say this.

I guess that's the whole purpose of including a bonus disc with an album....to put out the leftover songs that didn't make the 'regular' album.I'm sure this new album will be the same.It will have 13 tracks,and a bonus disc containing six other songs.

LiveToTell86 said:

Glindathegood said:

Apparently, Avicii who was working on some tracks on the new album is very ill and that may be holding up the release because he needs to finish the stuff they worked on together.

Are we sure about this? They teamed up exactly six months ago, I find it weird that those tracks are unfinished. On the other hand I guess superstar producers/DJs like him have their schedule full and maybe their second studio time was long planned but constantly delayed?

I'm not sure. That's what someone said on a forum but maybe they are wrong. I hope the Avicii tracks are included. From the descriptions they sound great. From what I've heard of their work with other artists I like Avicii's music better than Diplo's. I enjoy how he mixes instruments such as acoustic guitar into the dance beats. I'm not as familiar with Diplo but I tend to associate him with a reggae/dancehall/ska sort of sound. Sorry to fans of it here, but reggae is one of most hated genres of music.

A mix of 70s "folk and EDM" simply conjures up previous successful acoustic guitar-and-beats experiments such as 2000's "Don't Tell Me", and several tracks on American Life. I approve!

Cinny said:

A mix of 70s "folk and EDM" simply conjures up previous successful acoustic guitar-and-beats experiments such as 2000's "Don't Tell Me", and several tracks on American Life. I approve!

YOU AND THAT SONG, BOY!

So let's talk about the marketing of this?

U2 just gave away their new album for free to EVERYONE with an itunes account. I know Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary, is now managing U2. And with David Bowie's and Beyonce's surprise releases, do you guys think they'll be a gimmick to this for Madge's new record?

TheResistor said:

So let's talk about the marketing of this?

U2 just gave away their new album for free to EVERYONE with an itunes account. I know Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary, is now managing U2. And with David Bowie's and Beyonce's surprise releases, do you guys think they'll be a gimmick to this for Madge's new record?

if they're smart they know her fan base is a bunch of (former) sorority girls and homosexuals with expendable income...and they'll still charge for everything M - related. I just can't see that greedy woman (GOD LOVE HER) giving sh$t away for free

TheResistor said:

The latest rumor is that Alicia Keyes appears on the album's first single "Living For Love"

#wearehere. Alicia Killin it on my record....,,,,.,..,,#livingforlove

purplethunder3121 said:

#wearehere. Alicia Killin it on my record....,,,,.,..,,#livingforlove

and Diplo posted a picture of he and Alicia sitting at the piano.Looks like this song is most likely gonna be the first single.

LATEST NEWS: Madonna, Alicia Keys & Diplo in the recording studio,working on Madonna's new single "Living For Love"
Madonna stands up for Alicia Keys #WeAreHere project to present why she is here for love and peace. But she also added that Alicia Keys is “Killin it on my record....,,,,.,..,,#livingforlove and with a tag to Alicia Keys' Instagram. So she pretty much confirmed a collab here...probably on 'Living for Love' as hash tagged. Does this mean that Living for Love is the first single?

We Are Here is Alicia Keys‘ new song. She performed it on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and launched the hashtag #WeAreHere to create a dialogue and a more peaceful world for all children.

Also Diplo posted a pic with the hashtag #WeAreHere. But, most interestingly, Diplo also posted a pic of him with Alicia Keys on the piano in the recording studio.

And Guy Oseary is also managing Alicia Keys.

Details on two new tracks: "Beautiful Scars" and "Holy Water"

Beautiful Scars
This is a cool pop song about the beauty of being imperfect.

“Take me with all of my beautiful scars… I come to you with all of my flaws” sings Madonna, fighting for self esteem.

She’s a HOST of imperfection and sees her flaws as beautiful scars asking to be loved the way she is.
“I won’t apologize for being myself.”

Although the slightly vocoded vocals are unnecessary, “Beautiful Scars” remains a sweet mid-tempo song that could be considered.

Holy Water
On her 1992 album Erotica, Madonna confessed about one of her favorite fat-free meals.
Well, she’s back: “Baby you should get down low and drink my precious alcohol.”

PENNED by Madonna, Martin Kierszenbaum and Natalia Kills, “Holy Water” is basically a shameless song about enjoying the pleasures of oral sex on the receiving end.

Madonna repeats “bitch get off my pole”, and compares the taste of her juice to a religous symbol: “Don’t it taste like Holy Water?”

It’s probably the most overtly sexual track we listened to. It’s sort of fun, but forgettable.
It lacks the sexy, smooth, languorous tone one could expect from Madonna DEALING with sexuality.

(source: Madonnarama)

remember a few months ago when many fans assumed that this music (which is actually from a song called "We R Superstars") is Madonna's new single "Unapolgetic Bitch"? LOL

Billboard confirms 2015 release, so we can definitely expect the same pattern as the MDNA era.

http://www.billboard.com/...2015-diplo

Madonna Aiming for 2015 Album Release, 'Having a Lot of Fun' With Diplo

Madonna's been hard at work on her upcoming new album -- as evidenced by herprolific posts on Instagram -- and is planning for it to be released in 2015, according to a representative.

Among those she's working with is super-producer Diplo, who has turned up in multiple photos on the diva's Instagram account. It's unclear if Diplo (who recentlygraced the cover of Billboard magazine) is materializing as the album's primary producer, but it would seem that he could play a significant role in the project.

When asked specifically about Diplo and his involvement in the album, Madonna's manager Guy Oseary told Billboard, "She's currently in the studio with Diplo and having a lot of fun," but didn't offer any further clues about the project. Alas.

Madonna's next album is due out on Interscope Records, and -- based on a glance at her Instagram feed -- may also feature collaborations with Toby Gad, MoZella, S1, Ariel Rechtshaid, Avicii, Natalia Kills and Martin Kierszenbaum. On last week’s Pop Shop Podcast, Kierszenbaum — the head of Cherrytree Records who also records as Cherry Cherry Boom Boom — told Billboard that he was “very proud” of the work he completed with Madonna in the studio.

“It was a real privilege to write with Madonna, and with Natalia Kills,” said Kierszenbaum. “We ended up writing about seven songs. We were meant to only be there with her for a couple of days, but we really distilled it down to a very traditional writing session. It was just me on the piano, and Madonna and Natalia Kills around it, and we just wrote songs the old-fashioned way, just playing the piano and singing. … I don’t know what she’s gonna use from the sessions, but it was a tremendous honor.”

Madonna’s last release, 2012's MDNA, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart -- her fifth consecutive No. 1 studio album and her eighth chart-topper overall.

I just hope it doesn't leak before then.It seems like some "insiders" have already started sharing the songs with others

Adorecream said:

Maybe she will release two new albums like Prince, Rebel Heart and Unapologetic Bitch (I love that title) with her all boy backing group 3 Nose Boy

.

.

Seriously, all this news (and rumor!) has me ! Thanks for pulling it together here so I don't have to hunt all over for it!

.

I figured nothing (or at least not an album) would come out until next year, when a tour will start or at least be announced. Looks like that's the case.

.

I sure hope the Avicii stuff is finished and released, I'm really interested in hearing it. AL is still one of my fave Madge albums. So I'd love to hear what they came up with.

CandaceS said:

Adorecream said:

Maybe she will release two new albums like Prince, Rebel Heart and Unapologetic Bitch (I love that title) with her all boy backing group 3 Nose Boy

.

.

Seriously, all this news (and rumor!) has me ! Thanks for pulling it together here so I don't have to hunt all over for it!

.

I figured nothing (or at least not an album) would come out until next year, when a tour will start or at least be announced. Looks like that's the case.

.

I sure hope the Avicii stuff is finished and released, I'm really interested in hearing it. AL is still one of my fave Madge albums. So I'd love to hear what they came up with.

What does Avicii stuff have to do w AL?

badujunkie said:

CandaceS said:

.

.

Seriously, all this news (and rumor!) has me ! Thanks for pulling it together here so I don't have to hunt all over for it!

.

I figured nothing (or at least not an album) would come out until next year, when a tour will start or at least be announced. Looks like that's the case.

.

I sure hope the Avicii stuff is finished and released, I'm really interested in hearing it. AL is still one of my fave Madge albums. So I'd love to hear what they came up with.

What does Avicii stuff have to do w AL?

Avicii uses alot of acoustic guitar,which he mixes with EDM....similiar to the sound that Madonna had on American Life.So,I think that's what Candace was referring to?

Diplo was interviewed on UK Radio today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04gz8bl around 1 hour 5 minutes.

He says he thinks around 5 or 6 of the songs he did with Madonna will be on the album. He said he was reluctant to work with her because he heard she was going to be difficult but they had great chemistry and she was really supportive of his work and his ideas, but also very involved and opinionated. The first single was finished last weekend. He says some of the songs have a pop/rasta sound. He also says they did one song that has a retrospective of her whole career with news soundbites. He says it was one of the first albums where he was heavily involved in producing the whole thing.

I find it interesting that most people who have worked with Madonna say it was a wonderful experience and how she is so professional and involved, but somehow this idea of her being a difficult diva always seems to persist.

^Unlikely, since the album cannot be released before the last week of February. The album itself might not be completed/finalized/mixed yet either, only the sessions with Diplo are completed. I think all of her Spring releases have been completed before the end of the previous year so this really doesn't mean much unfortunately...

Nowadays,artists release singles long before the album is actually released."Living For Love" could be an early buzz single,then in February,she could drop the 'official' first single a few weeks before the album comes out.

"Living For Love"---the powerful new single by Madonna featuring Alicia Keyes and background vocals by the London Community Gospel Choir

I think Madonna should shake things up and do things differently this time (regarding single releases and promotion).The 'old model' doesn't work anymore.She should drop the new single next month,then drop another single in January,another single in February...with videos for each one.We all know that,when the album is released in March,she's gonna immediately begin tour rehearsals which won't leave any time to do proper promo.Why not get a head start and start promoting/releasing singles early? Film the videos NOW,so she won't have to make some quick,rushed videos later (remember "Give It 2 Me" and "Turn Up The Radio"? Smh)

Madonna calls Gaga a messed-up copycat in leaked song lyrics

I really thought she is smarter.

Gaga is no longer relevant, and Madonna clearly lags behind the trend.

^^If that song really exists,I doubt that it will appear on the new album

SoulAlive said:

badujunkie said:

What does Avicii stuff have to do w AL?

Avicii uses alot of acoustic guitar,which he mixes with EDM....similiar to the sound that Madonna had on American Life.So,I think that's what Candace was referring to?

.

.

SoulAlive...I like the release schedule and plan you described, makes perfect sense to me. I just hope I can mange to make a show this tour!