I’m thinking of asking him to do Kylie next.

With news that Pet Shop Boys are talking to producers about their upcoming effort, I thought I’d take a moment to play “armchair producer” and point out four talents whom I think would be exceptionally suited for the duo’s sound.

1. Trentmøller - The Danish producer’s two studio efforts and excellent rerub of “The Sodom and Gomorrah show” highlight his ability to pull emotion out of the most minimal of sounds. If Pet Shop Boys were to produce an album along the lines of the “electro record” that Fundamental was slated to be before Trevor Horn’s involvement, then he could bring out the best from Lowe’s demos. I’d be interested to hear his treatment of Tennant’s vocals, as well.

2. M.A.N.D.Y. - I’ve recently become very obsessed with the two heads of Get Physical records and the sound they’ve pushed forward. Electro house that’s unafraid of emotion and release, creative sounds and arrangements that are aimed directly at the dancefloor as well as the cerebellum, they could certainly hold the Tennant and Lowe sound high. (This would also mean that there’d be an increased chance of a mix by Booka Shade, my favorite semi-recent dance music discovery.)

3. Ewan Pearson - Have you heard his Disco Odyssey mix of Goldfrapp’s “Ride A White Horse?” No? Here’s a nine-minute video edit of the 15-minute-long masterpiece. Between that track and the other mixes that fill out Piece Work (including his take on Tennant and Lowe’s “Psychological,”) it’s hard to deny that he’d be able to take Pet Shop Boys into an ecstatic, modern direction that still has the pop hooks that have served them so well.

4. Gui Boratto - Another minimalist, Boratto’s ability to create anthemic moments from spare, elegant melodies and simple 4/4 beats shows that he has the chops to take the barest bones and create something much, much greater. I’d be very interested to hear what he’d do when given the full, lush demos that Pet Shop Boys have been producing over the last few albums.

This is the one-minute song recorded for Visionaire 53 - SOUND. It’s the sort of thing that shows off exactly why Pet Shop Boys are so highly regarded - it’s 60 seconds with a beginning, a middle, and an end that doesn’t feel like a jingle.

I received my copy of the latest Literally and got a reminder that I have to renew, this time by sending in cash, as they can no longer handle credit card transactions for some reason I didn’t quite believe.