More than six years after her last record (Discipline), Janet Jackson is back in the studio at work on new music.

The news comes from vocal producer and engineer Ian Cross. Cross helped engineer Jackson's last three studio albums, and in a new interview, he opened up about the collaboration.

"Janet [Jackson] and I had a little bit more of a special relationship because we became friends naturally,” Cross told Barefoot Sound of their ongoing working relationship. “You meet a lot of people and you become friends with a couple of them, but sometimes there is one person you become really good friends with. She asked me to work on an album with her called Discipline in 2007 and, again, just do the same thing, produce the vocals. That led to her hiring me full-time to work with her. That’s where I’m at now.”