later she started working on Ray of Light, her seventh studio album. Madonna wrote songs with William Orbit, Patrick Leonard, Rick Nowels and Babyface. The album would reflect the singer's changed perspectives about life. Author Carol Benson noted that it was a "deeply spiritual dance record", with the crux of it based on Madonna's career, her journey and the many identities she had assumed over the years. Motherhood had softened the singer emotionally, which was reflected in the songs. She started talking about ideas and used words which implied deep and personal thoughts, rather than the regular dance-floor anthemic tunes she had composed. Madonna worked primarily with Orbit after Guy Oseary, Maverick Records's partner, phoned Orbit and suggested that he send some songs to the singer. He sent a 13-track digital audio tape (DAT) to Madonna, and "Ray of Light" was among these tracks. It is based on the track "Sepheryn" (1971), by English folk music duo Curtiss Maldoon (consisting of Dave Curtiss and Clive Maldoon). In 1996, English singer and songwriter Christine Leach, Maldoon's niece, had recorded her version of the track. Leach said she had always loved the duo's work and "Sepheryn" was her favorite. She worked for a time with Orbit and recorded a demo of "Sepheryn" over a melody on which he was working. Leach rewrote the chorus and also removed a few bits from the original composition. Orbit included it in the DAT thinking that Leach had written the song. After Madonna heard the demo she liked it, and reworked the lyrics to create "Ray of Light". The track was released as the second single from the parent album on April 27, 1998, in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the single was released to retail on June 23, 1998, along with 40,000 copies of the song's music video. Curtiss was not aware of the fact that Madonna had recorded "Sepheryn" as "Ray of Light" and heard it for the first time being played on the radio. He "couldn't believe it" and was initially a bit annoyed, but became pleased when he learned that he would receive 15% of the royalties, as he had a songwriter credit. Madonna took 30% of the royalties, another 15% was given to Maldoon's estate and the rest was earned by Madonna's record company. The singer said about the song: "It's totally out of control. The original version is