When violin sensation Vanessa Mae met Indian composing genius A.R. Rahman to make music, the results were electric.

Backed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, violin phenomenon Vanessa's first recording for the Sony Classical label has a string of tracks by international composers, including Rahman.

From the tribal dances of Africa to the silken grace of a European minuet, dance rhythms are the inspiration for the choreography.

Vanessa holds over 40 international platinum awards and whose worldwide sales have surpassed eight million.

"It was really interesting to work because AR has lots of projects on the go, the process was very organic," said Vanessa.

"We would meet up, he would show me a patchwork of a few bars that we would then add on to the previous few bars and the track would grow. There are some violin flourishes that AR had written literally seconds before I entered the recording booth.

"This made the song all the more enjoyable to record as the whole experience just flowed. AR adopts the persona of the instrument that he's writing for and writes notes from the violinist's point of view."

Other composers on the album include Oscar winner Vangelis ("Chariots of Fire"), Irish composer/producer Bill Whelan ("Riverdance") and Tolga Kashif ("The Queen Symphony").

"It was cool to work with Vanessa because even though she is such a big star, she is a simple person and she is open and receptive to musical challenges," said Rahman. "They wanted me to do the Chinese kind of track too. However, due to time constraints, I couldn't do it.

"I first heard about this project when Rob Dickens (Instant Karma) contacted me through the recommendation of Sony Classical and asked me if I would be interested. I was interested because they wanted a today kind of Indian track."

Vanessa stormed the charts with her unique brand of classical crossover in 1995 when she was just into her teens.

Her formidable musical talent was revealed on the blockbuster album, "The Violin Player", which sold over 3.5 million copies.

Running with the winds of change, Vanessa continued to pioneer the classical crossover sound and quickly emerged as the first real superstar in this controversial, crowded but sensational field.

The recording was inspired by the rhythms and pulses of dance cultures, ranging from Argentinean tango and the seduction of the bolero, to the tribal dances of Africa, the complex and mystical beauty of Indian music and the allure of the belly dance. She has inspired some of today's most exciting composers to create new sounds with these traditional forms.