INTRODUCTION

To promote the Ray Of Light album, Maverick and Warner Bros. issued a special Words & Music interview CD to serve as an electronic press kit to media, prior to the album's release in 1998. Across two segments and over 30 minutes, it features in-depth discussions with the interview's narrator Davin Seay about Ray Of Light.

The following statement is in the notes issued along with Words & Music. "In this exclusive Words & Music interview, Madonna talks about Ray Of Light and explores the personal, creative and spiritual elements that came together on this revelatory new release. Also featured, comments from producer and writer William Orbit and selections from Ray Of Light."

EPK TRACK LISTING

01. Segment One
02. Segment Two

"Earth, water, fire, air and music. On Ray Of Light, the extraordinary new album from Madonna on Warner Bros. Records, music has become a whole new element, touching the soul, even as it reaches for the stars ... Ray Of Light blends the best of the ambient and electronic music revolution with some of the most remarkable and revealing words and melodies Madonna has ever written. The result is an album that captures the world in a drop of water, a face in the heart of a flame and a soul set free on a ray of light." - Davin Seay

EPK COVER ART

Design: Maverick and Warner Bros.

EPK NOTES

Words & Music (PRO-CD-9209) was originally released as a promotional-only CD, but was later included in a special edition of Ray Of Light (WPCR-10556/7) released in Japan on September 8th, 1999.

The selections from Ray Of Light that were used in each segment are Ray Of Light, Swim, Drowned World/Substitute For Love, Nothing Really Matters, Shanti/Ashtangi and Skin (Segment One); Sky Fits Heaven, Candy Perfume Girl, Little Star and Frozen (Segment Two).

EPK EXCERPTS

"Throughout the recording process, we basically named the album about 20 times. It started off with Sutra and then, we thought that was just too abstract for people and then, it became Mantra and then, still thought it was just a bit too deep for the general public. I thought people are going to put a 'p' on the end bit or something and do a play on words and that would really annoy me. So then, I thought I would call it Drowned World because that's one of my favourite songs on the album. But then, I thought it could be perceived as a negative connotation, so I... oh wait, there's another title that we really liked and that was Veronica Electronica. But then, we decided that we're going to call a remix record that. And so we ended up with Ray Of Light. I feel like it has a really sort of hopeful message to it." - Madonna

"I would say the beginning of my search and my spiritual journey, my spiritual awakening, whatever you wanna call it, really kicked into first gear with the impending birth of my daughter and coming to realization that I really didn't think I knew much at all ... What it provoked was, for me, to sort of really go out and start searching and reading and I started studying the Kabbalah and I started practicing Yoga and I started just kind of reading lots of different literature. It all sort of happened all at once and I don't think that there are any accidents. I think it happened to me for a reason. It happened to me like the teachers arrived because the student was ready to listen." - Madonna

SONG BOOOK RELEASES

Words and music from Ray Of Light have been arranged into sheet music folios for piano, vocal and guitar. The complete song book for Ray Of Light (IMP 0263B) was published in May 2008 by Warner Bros. Publications.

Individual sheet music for each of the five singles from Ray Of Light were also released, featuring individual cover art.

In addition, the singles released, with the exception of Nothing Really Matters, are included in the song book for GHV2 - Greatest Hits Volume 2 (IMP 0653B), which was also published by Warner Bros. Publications in April 2002.

SONG BOOK COVER ART

Photography: Mario Testino and Regan Cameron
Art Direction: Kevin Reagan