Amber will be performing Friday, July 9, 2010 at Chez Est in Hartford and Sunday, July 11 inside Fleur at the Ultra 88 Nightclub at the Mohegan Sun casino.

If you’ve listened to dance music at all in the past 15 years, you’ve probably heard the powerful, emotive voice of Amber.  She’s been behind some big hits, including “This is Your Night,” “Sexual,” and “Love One Another.” In fact, she had a run of seven consecutive number one hits on the dance charts, not to mention other top 10s.  She is also the rare dance artist to make an impact at pop radio, with two of her biggest hits gracing the upper half of Billboard’s fabled Hot 100 chart — impressive for any artist, but particularly impressive for one who had her roots in the dance genre.

But don’t make this one dimensional.

She’s more than just a voice.  She’s a singer, songwriter, performer and even record executive, having taken complete control of her destiny by leaving her original label and starting her own. Over the past decade, she’s set out to stretch the boundaries of dance music, blend it with other styles and make the scene a whole lot more interesting.

She’ll be heading to Connecticut for two performances in early July: a visit to Chez Est on Friday, July 9, and a stop at Mohegan Sun’s new monthly GLBT night, SunDayz, on Sunday, July 11 inside Fleur at the Ultra 88 Nightclub.  This follows stops at gay pride events, including Providence, Philly and Queens.

Amber thinks the gay community has supported her for a number of reasons. “I never went out and targeted the gay community,” she said in a recent E-mail interview with Metroline. “They seemed to be attracted to my music and message. It started probably around 3 years into my career.

“On top of that, I have a very clear opinion about same sex marriage and the equality of people, so I guess that the gay community caught onto that also and that is how the ball got really rolling.”

Just as the gay community has embraced Amber, she has embraced them in part by attending Pride events for years, something which she says shows in the crowd. “They are just a lot of fun and I love to see their faces light up when I perform,” she said. “It is just the best crowd to perform in front of and to see how much gratitude they have when you support them.”

Amber spent much of her earlier career working to break out of the mold her producers and record label created for her.  While songs like “This is Your Night” were commercially successful, Amber felt there was more to the music than just a heavy beat and mediocre lyrics.  Starting with 2002’s “Naked,” she and her longtime producer Wolfram Dettki began stretching the boundaries.

She said, “’Naked’ was already a big step forward to get out of that box that my label had created around me, and it was a fight. But it was a decent album that I already felt way more comfortable with. So I can say that I am pretty content with ‘Naked.’ “

“ ‘My Kind of World’ (released in 2004) is an album that I am still proud of,” she added. “It was all that boxed up creativity that I was able to let out. I felt the need to prove that I was not a pigeon-holed dance artist but a songwriter and vocalist in the first place.”

That said, she understand that her earlier material got her going, and still likes to perform some of the early hits.  As she said, “I see my earlier material as a stepping stone and that it paved the way for where I am at today. It is a reason why I am still working today and I have found a new appreciation for it, especially seeing my fan’s faces light up when I go back in time.”

She added, “I see my show as a build up and as a whole to get a crowd going. But I still enjoy performing ‘Sexual.’ To think that I wrote it in 15 minutes... I just knew it was big when I listened back to the demo...”

Much of Amber’s success comes from the song selection she makes, which no matter how it’s produced seems to have a strong construction.  She said that’s no accident. “ I am looking for strong lyrics with a message and also a strong song structure that can be interpreted in many ways musically.  I was marketed toward the Dance genre, which was not something I had expected starting out. For me, music is music, as long as it has quality to it.”

Her success also comes from her maintaining a website that’s geared directly towards her hardcore fans, and a trio of social networking sites she maintains a presence to stay connected, including a video blog on YouTube that lets fans check out what she’s up to. She's also got profiles on Facebook and MySpace.

More recently, Amber has released a trio of singles that have varied in approach, something that keeps her fresh.  “Melt With the Sun” is a hauntingly beautiful dance track, well-crafted in its initial approach but with a Hex Hector mix is given a new spin that’s equally enjoyable. A duet with Zelma Davis, “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” revives the classic from Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand to great effect, while her first proper ballad single, “I Don’t Believe in Hate (Drip Drop)” may be one of her best ballads to date.

Amber says she didn’t fear releasing a ballad to a fan base who may be more familiar with her up tempo numbers.

“I always set up remixes for the Dance fans- I get to do what I want to do and always make sure I serve up the up tempo mixes too, so my fans are happy.”

Her new strategy of releasing singles, as opposed to albums, has a lot to do with the changing music industry.

“An album is not in sight, as long as the illegal file sharing issue has not been resolved to an amicable level,” she said. “I expect quality in production and that does not come cheap. I’d rather not come out with an album than to come out with some half-assed piece of work. It is financially a huge investment to make to then just find it being illegally shared everywhere.”

Amber says that she’s made changes as a result of falling music sales. It’s a topic she’s been very passionate about over the years, and one she didn’t hold back on during our interview as well.

“I do not distribute physical copies anymore  only a limited edition over my site or at shows and the rest has all went digital internationally,” she said. “The issue of illegal file sharing is far from over. It has ruined many artists and writers, producers and remixers out there and has declined the number of releases and also declined the quality of music out there. And the line of the affected jobs that are tied in is much, much longer...And the fans are just experiencing the tip of that right now.”

“The real backlash has started and fans will have to rethink their priorities. NOBODY works and puts energy in something, that does not pay their bills and that is just the reality of it all. It is just amazing how people are still too greedy to pay one buck for a song that inspires them and makes them feel good. Imagine one day of your life without music...nobody goes out in their right mind and walks into a store and steals a loaf of bread...but yet they think that stealing our intellectual property is okay.”

Amber thinks fans should support the artists they love by clicking “Buy” at iTunes and Amazon to support both her and the ability to produce more music going forward. “I love what I do and work very hard for it and people need to understand that I am not a millionaire,” she said, “but I am trying hard to sustain and give my fans what they want. And that is the reality of many artists out there at this point.”

In the end, Amber hopes that attendees to her stops at Chez Est and Mohegan Sun just have fun. “ I hope to show them a good time and some positive energy with my performance,” she said, adding. “ I am taking it day by day and hope to be able to do what I love for as long as I am wanted out there.”

Tags: 2010, 37-12, LATE JUNE