Transviolet

Led by agile vocalist Sarah McTaggart, Transviolet are a California-based foursome serving up slick electronic pop that falls somewhere in line with Sia and Lana Del Rey. After going viral with their seductive debut single, “Girls Your Age,” in 2015, they signed with Epic, which reissued their self-titled first EP. They landed at Buskin Records (Warner) for their full-length debut, 2020′s Born to Rule. In the meantime, they released collaborations with artists spanning from Tim Legend and the Griswolds to Great Good Fine Ok. Transviolet’s second album, the self-released Drugs in California, followed in 2022 with guests including prior collaborator Reo Cragun.
First working together online and then gathering in San Diego to launch the project in earnest, Transviolet was founded by lead singer Sarah McTaggart, guitarist Judah McCarthy, swingman Michael Panek, and drummer/producer Jon Garcia. Their first single, “Girls Your Age,” made waves in the social networking and streaming spheres in the second half of 2015 and was remixed by Twin Shadow. Another of their songs, “New Bohemia,” which was soon to get major exposure thanks to a tech-giant ad placement, appeared alongside “Girls Your Age” on the EP Transviolet in September 2015. In 2016, they made their national TV debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden, toured with LANY, and were signed by Epic Records, which quickly reissued their debut EP. That year, they earned a number two placement on Billboard’s Next Big Sound chart.
In 2017, the band returned with another EP, Kaleidoscopes, which featured rapper Reo Cragun on the title track. Transviolet themselves were featured on trap producer Tim Legend’s single “Telescope.” Parting ways with Epic, the group issued their third EP, 2018′s Valley, on Buskin Records, with distribution by Warner. A series of collaborative singles with bands including the Swoons (“Lost Frequency”), Great Good Fine Ok (“Gone”), and the Griswolds (“Aliens”) followed in 2019. Buskin then delivered the band’s full-length debut, Born to Rule, in January 2020. Later that year, Transviolet issued tracks with electronic artists Taao Kross and Sleeping Lion.
In early 2022, they released their second album, the self-released Drugs in California. It led off with collaborations with Cragun, Dreamers, and Little Hurt on the single “Blue Flowers.” ~ Marcy Donelson