She may be one of the biggest names in dance music history, but she’s far from the biggest ego:

“Don’t use the word superior!” Amber admonishes me.

Only a few minutes into our interview on a dreary winter day, I’ve gushingly referred to her as a “superior” dance artist. Humbly, she again asks me to refrain. “Superior is not a word I would want to use, because it just sounds arrogant,” she explains. “I think my music has a different quality, and my lyrics have a different quality, compared to the usual dance music… but let’s keep it nice. Otherwise people will start freaking out and saying I’m an arrogant bitch!”

Arrogant? Hardly. Though she’s responsible for a decade-long string of Billboard hits (including anthems like “This is Your Night,” “Sexual,” and “Yes!”), has attained crossover pop success that often eludes other dance artists, and has even earned herself a Grammy nomination in the process, Amber is unassuming and down to earth. “I’m the mother of a teenager, for God’s sake!” she says of avoiding diva behavior. “I’ve got other things to worry about!” Indeed, always accessible and gracious to her dance devotees, Amber’s official website even hosts a message board where the artist speaks directly with her fans on a daily basis. It’s an unusual choice for a performer of her caliber, but Amber has always considered her relationship with her fans to be of paramount importance. “I saw a lot of distance between the fans and the artists,” she recalls of her decision to start the online forum. “That’s not a good thing, in my opinion. Those are the people who support your career. If they don’t buy your records, you are no where!”

Besides providing Amber with her fans’ input, chatting about the latest news headlines, and providing a sense of familiarity (she’s on a first name basis with more than a few of her regular posters), the message board also serves a useful professional purpose. In fact, Amber used the board as the first place to announce her latest album release: Undanced 2. Following in the wake of its successful predecessor, Undanced 2 is a traditional, beat-heavy collection of previously unreleased songs and remixes; each pounding track breathes new life into songs like “Anyway,” “Just Like That,” and her most recent club smash, “Melt with the Sun.” A 12-track version is available all over cyberspace through numerous legal download sites, and fans can purchase an extended, 17-track version directly through her online boutique (www.amber-mcc.com).

It’s a return to dance form from an artist who recently strayed from the genre; Her previous release, My Kind of World, had eschewed Amber’s usual bag of dance floor tricks in favor of rock, middle-eastern rhythms, and ambient electronica. That she has become so closely aligned with the dance world is certainly a tribute to her talent, her iconic status, and her career. But she’s also a musician with talent and ambition that transcend any one style. “Many of my fans know that dance is not a genre I intended to end up with,” she reminds her audience. “It really happened over time because my previous labels, without my understanding, had geared me towards it. And it’s hard to get out.”

Especially, she says, given the music industry’s unfortunate tendency to pigeon-hole artists: “They have to find a box for you!” she exclaims. “Sometimes in this country it really freaks me out the way they have to put everything in a box! If they can not find you a box, they are completely lost!”

My Kind of World was certainly a worthy attempt to break out of that proverbial music box. Even two years later, the record is inspired and refreshing: A melting pot of sounds rallied around a strong, cohesive core. Making the album was a cathartic experience for an artist going through major personal and professional changes: “I had finally gotten myself out of the Tommy Boy contract,” she says of her previous label. Frustrated by the musical restrictions that label life had forced upon her, Amber was glad to find a way out: “Sometimes the record companies just don’t give a damn, and they’ll let you rot away on a shelf,” she says. “I was happy for them to at least release me. I decided, ‘well, it’s time for me to be totally creatively free, and to do what I feel at this point in time.’”