Black Viiolet Slips Into Velvet Jazz-Noir Shadows, Exploring Love And Distance On New LP Dark Blue
Seattle multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Black Viiolet, the solo project of Nicole Laurenne, emerges from a background rooted in high-energy rock and hands-on musicianship. Nicole first gained recognition as a driving force in The Darts, where her garage-soul intensity and instinct for melodic urgency defined the band’s sound. That foundation informs everything she does—even as Black Viiolet shifts toward smoky jazz, neo-soul, and trip-hop textures, the same commitment to raw performance and emotional directness remains at the core. Dark Blue, her dusky full-length album, reflects an artist expanding her palette rather than abandoning her roots: late-night keys and muted brass replace distorted guitars, but the songwriting still carries the urgency and detail that marked her earlier work.
For Nicole, the album also reflects a life shaped by movement and musical exploration. Written largely while touring, the songs absorb the restlessness of the road and the emotional distance that comes with long stretches away from home. She approaches the project the way she approaches life—hands on every instrument she can reach and attentive to the small textures that give music character. Whether drawing from jazz standards she has long loved or shaping arrangements in collaboration with touring musicians and guests, Black Viiolet represents an evolution rather than a reinvention: an artist translating the energy of her past into a quieter, more cinematic language.
Written largely on the road and shaped with a hands-on approach to instrumentation and arrangement, Dark Blue folds the restlessness of touring life into intimate, cinematic songs built from late-night keys, muted brass, and brushed drums. Recording with her European touring band added a loose yet confident sway, while sessions at Studio Black Box in the Loire Valley of France—including an outro piano solo on the title track played on a restored 1930s Berlin piano—gave the record a bruised, human warmth. Mixing at Ruby Room in Seattle and mastering in France completed the global production.
Dark Blue arrives as a subtle reinvention: an exploration of mood and texture from an artist known for intensity, transforming late-hour jazz and trip-hop influences into something distinctly her own—intimate, cinematic, and steeped in emotional detail.
Want to catch Black Viiolet line?
Black Viiolet Live 2026
- March 6 – Sacramento, CA – Torch Club
- March 7 – Los Altos Hills, CA – KFJC (In-Studio)
- March 7 – San Francisco, CA – Make-Out Room
- March 8 – Davis, CA – KDRT (In-Studio)
- March 8 – Chico, CA – Duffy’s
- March 10 – Palmdale, CA – Transplants Brewing
- March 11 – Yucca Valley, CA – Mojave Gold
- March 12 – El Centro, CA – Mexca
- March 13 – San Pedro, CA – The Sardine
- March 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Redwood Bar
- March 15 – San Diego, CA – Whistle Stop
- March 18 – Dunkerque, FR – DND
- March 19 – Amiens, FR – La Péniche Célestine
- March 20 – Rennes, FR – Le Bistrot de la Cité
- March 21 – St Gilles Croix de Vie, FR – RockSea
- March 22 – Toulouse, FR – Le Labo des Arts
- March 23 – Perpignan, FR – El Pati de Rabiosa
- March 24 – Cunlhat, FR – Octopus
- March 25 – Paris, FR – Le 34
- April 15 – Boston, MA – Deep Cuts
- April 16 – Rochester, NY – Skylark Lounge
- April 17 – Columbus, OH – TBA
- April 18 – Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub
- April 19 – Louisville, KY – Portal
- April 21 – Chattanooga, TN – The Woodshop
- April 22 – Asheville, NC – Fleetwoods
- April 23 – Richmond, VA – Gallery 5
- April 24 – Baltimore, MD – TBA
- April 25 – Brooklyn, NY – Main Drag
- July 3–19 – Europe – TBA
Make sure you check out ‘Dark Blue’ on Spotify below and over on your favorite streaming platform!
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Who am I? Just some guy who decided to start writing on the Internet years ago and now operates his own brand and site. Owner/Operator of Modern Neon Media, I make all kinds of niche content to suit my interests at the time. DIY Enthusiast, Brewmaster extraordinaire, and avid freak for geek culture. Follow on my socials for a more “on” version of me.
