Madonna posts photo of her working in the studio with Max Martin

As she prepares for her Celebration tour, Madonna is wasting no time on a holiday. In fact, she’s chosen to head into the studio with hitmaker extraordinaire Max Martin.

This turn of events was confirmed when Madonna recently posted a photo on Twitter of it happening. In the shot, both she and Martin are busy scribbling on notepads while a DAW project sits open in the background. There are tracks in it, too, suggesting that music has indeed been made.

“When in doubt, go to work,” said Madonna in her caption, adding that “nothing shuts down the noise or naysayers more than being in the creative process.” A Max Martin hashtag confirmed that he is the producer in the shot.

The presence of Martin in the studio suggests that Madonna’s next, as-yet-unconfirmed album may lean in a pop direction, though the Swede’s versatility is such that trying to second-guess what the pair might come up with is pretty much impossible.

In a recent interview with News.com.au, Martin recently explained his approach to songwriting and production: “I think I’m trying to make every part good,” he said. “If we do our job right, I think every second needs to be awesome. And I hate when people zone out. I want to be engaged the whole time. Songs that, when you hear it on the radio, you just want to hear it over and over again. That’s the thing that you want.”

Last year, meanwhile, previous Madonna collaborator William Orbit told MusicRadar that there’s unreleased material that the pair worked on, but that he doesn’t know if it will ever be heard. “Maybe it will see the light of day one day," he told us.

Madonna’s Celebration tour kicks off on 15 July.