BLACK VIOLET is the alter-ego of garagerock maven Nicole Laurenne, singer and founder of The Darts (US). With its first live shows in 2024, Nicole stepped away from her crowdsurfing rockpersona into a sultry, neosoul, spy-movie world of smoky jazz clubs and back-alley speakeasies,with vintage-sounding original torch songs floating over modern triphop beats. Musicians and producers from two continents came together to bring Black Viiolet’s unique sound to life on recordings and on stage. The debut EP, Kill Me Now (2024 Adrenalin Fix Music) was featured by Seattle’s premiere jazz radio station KNKX (“The New Cool” with Abe Beeson) and Black Viiolet immediately went into rotation. Multiple tours in Europe and the USA soon followed. Keyboard giant Korg Inc. sponsored Nicole on two continents and press began to roll in throughout the US, UK, and Europe. The EP sold out within months and was re-pressed onto 12” laser-etched photo-disc vinyl in Europe. The first full-length LP, After You (2025 Adrenalin Fix Music), was released in early 2025, with an impressive roster of bi-continental top-tier musicians, including drummer Conrad Real (Digable Planets, Brittany Davis). The release tour stretched across the Atlantic, including opening for Switzerland’s The Jackets and playing Seattle’s famed Easy Street Records. A new rhythm section was born with Seattle double-bassist Evan Strauss and Darts’ labelmate Denver drummer Gregg Ziemba (Wheelchair Sportscamp, Rubedo) taking the live show to a new level. Wipeout Music Publishing (Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs) in the UK and Ivy Agency (Detroit Cobras) in the USA added Black Viiolet to their rosters. While on tour in Europe in 2025, Black Viiolet tracked the latest album, Dark Blue (2026 Adrenalin Fix Music / Meow Hiss Music), at legendary Studio Black Box (The Kills) in France. Mixed at Ruby Room in Seattle, the songs on the new record are full of Black Viiolet’s bittersweetness melancholy but with a sparkle and a wink - like a pink cocktail under a heady cloud of jazz-club smoke. The horns are prominent on this record, featuring ace French jazz team Basile Conand (trombone), Paul Cadier (sax), and JeanGa Pasquier (trumpet). The rhythm section grooves harder than ever, having honed their sound together on tour. A cover of “Why Don’t You Do Right,” always a popular part of the live set, is now captured on this record. And legendary rock musicians lend guest cameos, including Blag Dahlia (The Dwarves), Tom Hagerman (Devotchka), and Jason Devore (Authority Zero), proving that Nicole is not the only rocker drawn to the lounge. Dark Blue is an evolution for Black Viiolet without veering from its signature sweet soulful energy and personal touch and not quite like anything else out there.