Black Viiolet is the alter-ego of Nicole Laurenne, lead singer and founder of Alternative Tentacles all-girl garagepunk band, The Darts (US). Nicole steps away from her Farfisa organ flinging, crowdsurfing rock persona into a whole new world with Black Viiolet - a sultry, neosoul, vintage-jazz-inspired, triphop-tinged, spy-movie experience, invoking smoky jazz clubs and back-alley speakeasies. With musicians from two continents backing her and top-level producers, Black Viiolet is far more than just a side project but a true labor of love.
Black Viiolet played its first live shows in 2024, in support of the debut EP, K*ll Me Now (2024 Adrenalin Fix Music). Seattle’s premiere jazz radio station KNKX featured Black Viiolet on its show “The New Cool” and put the EP into rotation. Multiple tours in Europe and the USA soon followed. Keyboard giant Korg, Inc., became a sponsor for Nicole on two continents, Phantogram’s publicist added the band to its roster, and press began to roll in throughout the US, UK, and Europe. The EP sold out within nine 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. The album features fourteen top-tier jazz musicians and nine top producers from the USA and Europe, including Conrad Real (Digable Planets) on drums. The album release tour stretched from France, Switzerland, and Germany to Canada and the USA Pacific North-west, with horn players from both France and the USA and Darts’ labelmate Gregg Ziemba (Wheelchair Sportscamp) taking the drums to the next level on tour. Highlights included opening for Switzerland’s The Jackets and Seattle’s famed Easy Street Records hosting the band’s live show to close out the tour.
During the album release tour, Black Viiolet stopped at legendary Studio Black Box (The Kills) in France to record the second full-length album, which will include guest appear-ances by Blag Dahlia (The Dwarves), Tom Hagerman (Devotchka), Jason Devore (Au-thority Zero), and Jonathan Hischke (Nora Jones, Cigar). Wipeout Music Publishing (Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs) in the UK and Ivy Agency (Detroit Cobras) in the USA have added Black Viiolet to their rosters. The next album and tours promise an ever-evolv-ing, energetic-yet-soulful, always-personal experience like nothing else out there right now.
You may also like the following events from MOTR:
Also check out other
Music events in Cincinnati,
Entertainment events in Cincinnati.
