Never reframing the past, Madonna is taking a two-pronged approach to celebrating the 40th anniversary of her debut album – a nod to the past with two remixes spanning her career, while remaining rooted in the present by remixing Sick’s blockbuster re-imagining of “Frozen.”
In the third and final iteration, called “Frozen on Fire,” Madonna added new lyrics to the song and invited the masked producer to contribute his own songs. The result is a trap-filled adventure that ends with a trio of free-wheeling remixes that started with a fix for the Afrobeats, which featured Nigeria’s Fireboy DML, and then an understated collaboration with New Jersey’s 070 Shake.
While Sickick manipulated “Frozen” independently, Madonna was quick to realize her potential. “I’ve seen the impact it’s made on people, it’s been inspiring people to make great videos,” she said, referring to the song’s popularity on TikTok. “I just thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to reinvent the song? “
“My lucky number is three,” Madonna says. So I set out to orchestrate three remixes from artists of different genres, nationalities, and backgrounds. “I wanted to show how accessible the song is, and how relevant you are to it depending on who’s spinning it,” she says, so the Afrobeats artist was at the top of her list.
“I live in a very musical house and we’ve lived all over the world,” Madonna says. “I have a lot of African employees living in my house. Some of them are Nigerian, some are from Congo, some are from Ghana. We were already listening to Afrobeats before they suddenly became so popular, which was shocking to all of us.” So I decided to connect with Fireboy DML in the newest way imaginable: “I loved it.”
“I’m probably one of the very few people who use DMs to work with people,” Madonna jokes. “But I should always start with a DM,” I realize this is a really dirty way of trying to get someone, possibly unprofessional, to work together. “However, nobody leaves Madonna unread. I always get good responses.” Is 070 Shake? This was facilitated by mutual friend Mike Dean.
“He’s always playing music for me,” Madonna explains. “We were putting a vibration in the car. I really like her music and wanted to work with a female.” There was another reason to choose Eminem’s young collaborator, who has a new album coming up at Def Jam next week. “I also wanted to represent the LGBTQ community,” she says. “And I just thought Shake was a really good choice for the second.” When it came time for remix number three – AKA “Frozen on Fire” – Sickick raised his hand.
“I was thinking of other artists at first, but then I said, ‘Okay, let me hear what you got me,'” Madonna says. “So he sent me his copy of the song and I was blown away.” Also appreciating the consistency, she says, “It was a pleasant surprise to me.” “To make a full circle with the person who created the remix in the first place.”
When asked if she enjoys the new music scene, where projects seem to be completed and released in real time, Madonna didn’t hesitate. “It’s refreshing for me because I’ve been doing it for a long time,” she says. “There is a formula – [you] Working on a record for six months to a year, then mixing it up, making videos, marketing it, then launching it and then going on tour to support it. This takes a lot of work.”
“I have no problem with a lot of work,” she asserts. “I love working out, but it takes so long between records. It’s great working on an album and spending time creating a masterpiece, but I love the instant gratification of doing something and getting it out.” Unsurprisingly, work on “Frozen” remixes ignited nostalgia. “I realized ‘Frozen’ was great,” she says. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but it’s timeless.”
“It comes from my ‘Ray of Light’ record, which I’m really proud of,” Madonna continues. “It was a turning point in my life. I set that record when I just had my daughter, my first child. Life seemed very different to me and I will never be the same. It was a watershed moment.” Her memories of her “Frozen” recording session are less specific. “I just remember how all the songs I write with Pat Leonard begin with me sitting next to him playing the piano.”
From remixes of 1982’s “Everybody” to 2022’s “Frozen,” the one constant in Madonna’s career has been the control she has at clubland. “It’s my first love, I left home to become a dancer,” she says. “I had no intention of ever becoming a singer, setting records, but things just happened and opportunities presented themselves for me. At one point I was like, ‘Oh my God, all those years, I was wasting all the dancing and all the dance lessons and all the blood and sweat. and tears.”
Eventually, she realized that her affinity for movement was a miraculous strength. “I use it in all my work,” Madonna says. “A lot of my music is about dance. This is my connection to club music. It has been important to me all my life.”
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