Like “Gimme More”, “Break The Ice” was written principally by Keri Hilson, with the assistance of producer Nate “Danja” Hills, vocal producer Jim “Beanz” Washington, and mixer, programmer and recordist Marcella “Ms Lago” Araica.

Once again, it’s a complex confection, made up of so many elements that it’s all but impossible to strand all of them out. And this is the classic signature of Ms Lago - the woman so admired by Danja that he credited her before Britney herself on “Gimme More”. Marcella Araica got her nickname from a very expensive car - a Lamborghini Murcielago. And appropriately so, because she is in the elite class of mixers, and her work adds enormously to production values. On Timbaland’s “The Way I Are”, for example, her mix involved at least 40 different processes.

It’s welcome to see Britney receive some luxury treatment. She may be one of the world’s biggest stars, but a lot of her recordings down the years have been relatively minimal productions, where other artists have been assisted by live bands, orchestras and choirs, and blessed by the complex but vivid settings created by the likes of Timbaland. Regular Britney collaborators Bloodshy and Avant, for example, seem to devote most of their creativity to inventing fresh and unusual-sounding songs. No bad thing - but their actual productions, and the mixing especially, are often simplistic .

On “Break The Ice” Britney still has to make do with synthesized instrument sounds. This is the territory in which Danja and Araica operate, where guitarists are an extinct species and what was once the drum track is now “the kick” (electronic percussion that marks the beat). But at least we can be sure that, at the mixing stage, everything has been intricately detailed. Ms Lago explained, in a recent interview, “A good mix is when you are able to achieve the best sound from the producer and the artist - every sound in a song has its place. A good mix gives you the ability to hear the many different sounds within their own space. You need to know how to space everything so that it is able to fit and it’s not just a mesh of sounds.”

“Mixing is about making sure that all the sounds work with each other, that certain moving parts, lead lines stand out more than other parts, and that the vocal is at the centre of it all,” she continued. “Timbaland is always going on about being able to hear the music, and he taught me that the vocals have to stand out too.“ She added that she handled the vocal tracks with the utmost delicacy and care. In the light of this obsession with subtlety, it is hard to accept some listeners’ rather crass notions that Britney’s vocals are “heavily synthesized”. In any case - to put it bluntly - if that were true, how come she always sounds like Britney and nobody else does?

OK. I’ve given Ms Lago a major build-up here, so what magic does she create on “Break The Ice”? The tune is simple and repetitive, both in the verse and the chorus. The lyrics aren’t particularly profound. Yet the track is, and always has been, a fan favorite. Why? Well, maybe because it comes loaded with “hooks” of one kind or another that all gained their proportionate spaces at the mixing stage.

These are some of the ingredients -

“It’s been a while” (Intro with a double meaning)

“I know I shouldn’t have kep’ you waiting.” (Idiosyncratic Britney pronunciation)

The backing singers do their “choral” thing, then their “Ba ba ba ba” subtly sets the beat

Two different synth lines play simultaneously

At 0.43 and 1.38, Britney in high register does a graceful trill on the word “blazin'” (Is there another pop singer who would do that?)

At 0.45 and 1.43, a male voice interjects the word “low”

There’s a swelling chorus of “Hot hot hot” at 1.03

“Heart beating like an 808” - a phrase with "mouth music" that’s designed to stand out

At 1.26, there are a few swooning “Aaaah” sounds to left and right

A deep, heavy bass track starts with a neat little introductory phrase at 1.30

It’s just Britney and the bass at 1.48

“I like this part” - another phrase meant to stand out

“It feels kinda good...yeah” - Britney manages to sound totally unshowbizzy

An instrumental-style break that isn't instrumental - it's the backing singers

Electronic seagulls

An electronic wind begins to blow at 2.56

A weird, swirling, deep bass (more felt than heard) ends the song.

By listening to the stereo layout that you hear on headphones, you can detect how those spaces referred to by Ms Lago have been created so that each vocal “highlight” can be heard clearly within the overall context of the track.

The vocals in the first verse are not obviously “multi-layered”, but there are two distinct layers, which alternate at first. Thus “I know it’s been a while but I’m...” is solo at center, while “...glad you came” adds a split stereo pair at extreme left and right. But in the second part of the verse, the stereo track at left and right accompanies the lead vocal with “ah-ahs” and harmonies.

At “Let me break the ice” the lead vocal of the chorus (at left and right) overlaps the end of the verse, still at center. Throughout the chorus, the lead vocal continues as a split stereo pair and the center space is reserved for some spoken asides. As this happens, the backing singers provide a “heavenly choir” effect.

The second verse has a different layout, with all lead vocals at center, and the left and right channels used for “aaaahs” and harmonies by Britney herself and the backing singers.

In the second iteration of the chorus, everything is placed in its own share of the areas at left and right, leaving the center free for Britney to announce “I like this part.... it feels kinda good.....yeah”. The words “Baby I can make you feel...” at 2.27 suddenly receives a center emphasis, but from there to the end of the song, the center is again reserved for a few spoken words.

As on “Gimme More” (and seemingly a characteristic of this team), the track is a vocal-fest and the instrumental accompaniment is extremely sparing. There are the two synth lines at the beginning, one at center for a few bars and the other at left and right continuing into the verse. Then, from 0.18, it’s mostly just the “kick”, in the form of synthesized bass drum, snare and hi-hat. Unobtrusive little keyboard “twiddles” run from 2.30.

The treatment of the bass track deserves a separate mention. Ms Lago reckons the bass is a bully and has to be kept under heavy restraint. She goes to considerable lengths to keep it in its place here. There are some occasional light bass notes from 0.26, a handful of mid-register bass notes from 1.15, and - eventually - a very deep bass “tune” from 1.30 to 1.56. The mid-bass enters again with a brief descending figure at 2.23, and finally a deep, fuzzy bass swirls between the left and right channels.

I’ve said a lot about the production and mix, but what about Britney? For all that’s going on here, Ms Lago has kept to her principles and ensured that Britney's unusual and distinctive lead vocals stand out. I didn’t realise how strong Britney’s vocals are on this song till I heard it on the PA in a store recently. The pattern of some earlier recordings is followed again - she begins each verse in her lower register, with a slightly hard edge and features her signature croaks and groans, but soon she moves into that deliciously pure higher register and stays there, right through the chorus till the start of the next verse. And there are those endearing spoken parts that are so characteristic of Britney. It’s a fine vocal performance, strong, tuneful and - as always - bubbling with personality. As Jive’s VP of A&R Teresa LaBarbera Whites noted when “Blackout” was released - for all that the production team may have done, it’s Britney’s artistry that lifts these songs and turns them into something special.

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