Bright Violet was written over a  five-year span. The ideas came to light between two continents. The first was in Seth Kinzie's home in the Wallowa Mountains of Northeastern Oregon, in a small town of 1,000 in the country. The second was during four trips to Sub-Saharan Africa on a peace fellowship that explored how indigenous models of friendship and reconciliation can heal our planet, where Seth was able to meet peacemakers in Malawi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, and Kenya, and taught piano in Uganda. These trips resulted in the creation of the international NGO, African Peacemaking Database, which consults with the Malawi government on peace and development.

The ideas were finetuned with percussionist Andy Steele in Walla Walla. They brought in a second drummer, Dan Galucki, and an exquisite guitarist, Ben Walden, to create an album that reflected themes of healing, beauty, sorrow, and celebration. After recording the quartet live on the Oregon coast, Seth spent the spring and summer writing string quartet arrangements, thanks to the encouragement and mentorship of his teacher, the acclaimed choral composer Shawn Kirchner. The album includes a rearrangement of Kirchner's choral piece, Tulips, which sets the poetry of Sylvia Plath to song. This piece was debuted at Disney Hall in Los Angeles in 2013.

Kinzie Steele is grateful for all 13 contributing musicians and the countless friends who helped encourage the album's unfolding.