MADONNA is set to return to the spotlight with her first studio album since 1994's 'Bedtime Stories'. 'Ray Of Light' is a co-production with William Orbit who also co-wrote six of the album's 13 tracks. She's also reunited on the album with longtime producer Pat Leonard with whom she wrote some of her biggest hits, including 'Live To Tell' and 'Like A Prayer'. Leonard co-wrote four of the tracks on the album.

The album was recorded throughout this summer at Larrabee Studios in Universal City, California. Many of the tracks were engineered with Pat McCarthy who's due to start work on REM's new album next month. The first single from the album, 'Frozen', is released on February 23 and will feature remixes by The Stereo MCs and William Orbit. Madonna filmed a promo video for the single in the Mojave desert two weeks ago.

Insiders say Madonna originally planned to work with William Orbit on just two songs from the album. She's worked with him in the past. However the coupling worked better than they'd imagined. "It was a marriage made in heaven," a spokeswoman said.

The full track listing for 'Ray Of Light' is: 'Drowned World/Substitute For Love', 'Swim', 'Ray Of Light', 'Candy Perfume Girl', 'Skin', 'Nothing Really Matters', 'Sky Fits Heaven', 'Shanti/Ashtangi', 'Frozen', ' 'Power Of Goodbye', 'To Have And Not To Hold', 'Little Star' and 'Mer Girl'. 'Candy Perfume Girl' was written by Madonna, Orbit and Suzanne Melvoin, the sister of the late Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboardist Johnathan Melvoin. The track 'Shanti/Ashtangi' incorporates lyrics taken from an ancient Sanskrit text.

'Frozen' is a co-production between Madonna, William Orbit and Pat Leonard. The album features a mix of ballads and big brassy dance beats. In 1995 Madonna released the ballad collection, 'Something To Remember' followed by the 'Evita' soundtrack in 1996 which spawned three hit singles.