Anna Meredith session

To the majority of pop fans Anna Meredith will be a brand-new artist – but she's been involved in music for years. The Scottish composer has already worked with the BBC and countless arts organisations and orchestras, and is one of the most commissioned composers of her generation at British classical music festival The Proms. But frustrated by the attitude of classical fans who can spoil months of hard work with one sneer, Meredith is trying something new.

She's not doing it for the money. “No – my contemporary art music funds my burgeoning middle-aged pop sensation career," she told UK newspaper The Guardian earlier this year. And, like most of her classical compositions, which have featured beatboxers and body-part percussion, Meredith isn't exactly making straightforward pop.

Meredith's debut album Varmints (out now on Moshi Moshi) is a peculiar thing. A blend of futuristic art-school synth-pop and warped traditions, as Meredith attempts to realise her most outlandish concepts. “The writing version of me is not afraid of anything,” she's said. That's clear from an album that veers from laser-strafed tributes to Jean-Michel Jarre and abstract bass thumpers to brassy, motorik cacophonies, St Etienne pop and a paean to retro computer games.

Alongside classically-trained musicians such as Mica Levi and Floating Points, Meredith is proving there are still adventures in sound to be taken. So for a revealing look at what's possible, watch her exclusive live session for RedBull.com/Music's showcase series See. Hear. Now.

Get to know Anna Meredith a little better and check out exclusive performances of Scrimshaw (from 02:30) and R-Type (08:45).