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8410084100Roli Seaboard Rise 2 review: I wish I had a horror movie to score
The Roli Seaboard Rise 2 is probably the most successful showcase of what MPE MIDI is capable of.
Roli is making its squishy MPE MIDI keyboards affordable and portable (again)
The Roli Seaboard Block M is a more affordable and portable way to get your hands on its signature squishy MPE MIDI controller.
Roli's redesigned Seaboard Rise keyboard offers more precise playing
Roli, the builder of unconventional musical instruments, has just announced the Seaboard Rise 2, a totally revamped version of its older Seaboard Rise keyboard. It's available for pre-order today.
Musical instrument company Roli files for administration, will relaunch as Luminary
Roli, the modular musical instrument business co-owned by Pharrell Williams and Grimes, has entered administration in the UK and will relaunch as Luminary.
Roli's pro Lumi marries keyboard tradition with expressive MIDI features
Roli has unveiled a Lumi Keys Studio Edition for pro musicians that lets you glide and stab keys to produce unusual effects.
Equator2 is the next step in Roli's vision for expressive digital music
Roli is best known as the creator of the Seaboard, an exceptionally expressive (and very mushy) take on the classic keyboard synth. "We're realizing the world's first true flagship MPE synth engine: Equator2," said Roli CEO Roland Lamb in a statement. For the uninitiated, "MPE" refers to "MIDI Polyphonic Expression" a specification jointly developed by a handful of companies including Roli, Apple, MOOG and more that allow for certain synths and instruments to send more detailed note data to sound generators like, well, Equator2.
Roli’s light-up, learn-to-play Lumi keyboard is available for pre-order
Roli's crowdfunded Lumi keyboard is now available for pre-order.
Roli's light-up Lumi keyboard teaches you how to play
Roli has been making unconventional electronic music instruments for about a decade now. Its Seaboard series take the traditional keyboard design and infuse it with some notable tricks, like pressure-sensitive keys that allow for far more modulation effects than you can do on a piano. Its series of modular Blocks gadgets take that pressure-sensitive surface in another direction, combining the features of a synth and drum pad into a much more affordable device than the company had released before. However, Roli has never made a traditional keyboard before, until now. At first glance, the 24-key Lumi looks very much like any other MIDI keyboard out there, albeit one without any bezel to speak of. But, as this is a Roli product, the Lumi isn't meant to just be another small keyboard. The Lumi's keys all light up via internal LEDs, and those lights match up with a Lumi app for iOS and Android that's meant to teach users how to play. The app, meanwhile, more than a hundred songs players can learn, including songs from big-name artists like Beyoncé and Pharrell.
Pharrell Williams will co-own Roli's modular instrument business
There's no question that Pharrell Williams has had at least some fondness for technology (his Daft Punk collabs and gold-tinged smartphones were big clues), but now he's taking that appreciation to Will.I.Am levels. Roli has revealed that Pharrell is not only becoming its Chief Creative Officer, but will invest in and take co-ownership of the modular instrument startup. He'll have a vested interest in Roli's success, in other words. The company hasn't outlined the terms of the deal, but the superstar will help develop "revolutionary" digital instruments that are accessible and "iconic."
Roli makes its Blocks music-making module more responsive
British music company Roli introduced an affordable, innovative music-making gadget last year called Roli Blocks. It's a set of modular synth controllers that can snap together and connect via Bluetooth to your iOS device. Roli is now updating the iOS app, Noise, and updating its surface controller, the Lightpad M.
Roli expands its modular music gear with the touch-friendly Seaboard
Last year, Roli launched an affordable, modular music creation system called Blocks. At launch, the company sold a square Lightpad block (intended for tapping out melodies and drum beats) and two smaller blocks that let you adjust a variety of settings or record and loop your music. Users can snap together as many Blocks as they want and hook them all up to an iPhone or iPad to create and record music. I spent some time playing with Blocks earlier this year, and while there's no doubt they're a fun and unique tool, the Lightpad's small size introduced some challenges when trying to create precise compositions. Roli's looking to fix that today by taking its flagship musical instrument, the Seaboard, and shrinking it down to Block size. The new $300 Seaboard Block is a small, two-octave version of its larger Seaboard instrument, but it retains all the unique touch-sensitive features you'll find in the bigger and more expensive versions. (The Seaboard Rise starts at $800, and Roli sells a variety of other sizes that range in price from $1,110 all the way up to over $8,000.)
'La La Land' composer on electronica's key role in the film
Damien Chazelle's La La Land might not have won that Oscar, but it did scoop up the one for Best Original Music Score. The man behind that score is Justin Hurwitz. Anyone who has seen the film will know that the soundtrack is largely divided between vintage Hollywood music and classic jazz -- the style favored by tortured musician Seb (Ryan Gosling). But for all of its antiquity, one of the biggest conflicts of the movie is Seb's struggle with pop success after joining his friend Keith (John Legend) in a band that fuses jazz flavors with modern electronic music. Hurwitz's challenge, then, was not only to score the movie but also to create a musical backdrop to Seb's journey of self-discovery, a journey that ultimately proves to be a crucial fork in the movie's twisting story.
Roli Blocks are fun for music making but need some fine-tuning
I've played instruments for most of my life, but as I've gotten older I've had less time for jamming with bands. That's led me to consider dabbling in electronic instruments that would let me make my own compositions without needing to wrangle other musicians. Of course, both hardware and software can add up fast. (I've wanted Teenage Engineering's OP-1 for years, but just can't bring myself to drop $850 on it.) That's why Roli's new modular Blocks system caught my eye. The $180 Lightpad controller is both affordable and versatile, distilling a lot of the touch-sensitive technology found in Roli's larger Seaboard into a super-compact gadget. Your iOS device does all the heavy lifting while the Lightpad lets you perform in some unique ways. And, the modular nature of the Blocks system lets you get in at an affordable price while expanding your setup down the line.
Use Roli Blocks to control Mac and Windows music production apps
Roli's set of modular music gadgets have been around since November, but today the company announced an update that will come in handy for those who use desktop music production apps. The new Dashboard for Roli Blocks allows you to employ the LED touch-sensitive pad to control software like Logic Pro X, Ableton Live, Cubase, Native Instruments Massive and a bunch more. With the Lightpad Block and Dashboard, you can upload pre-programmed scripts and edit as needed.
RZA's advice for starting out in music production
After a performance with electronic music duo Parisi here at CES, we sat down with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan to chat about Roli Blocks. The modular touch-sensitive pieces of tech snap together to create a user-friendly way to start making music in minutes. They're a fun option for beginners and pros alike, and the hip hop producer offered advice for people looking to dive into music for the first time, what makes Blocks unique and the types of sounds you can expect from the gear.
Roli Blocks is an affordable, modular way to make electronic music
British music-gear company Roli is mostly known for its attempts at reimagining the piano. The full-size Seaboard and smaller Seaboard Rise may bear similarities to traditional keyboards, but their rubberized, touch-sensitive buttons let you modulate, pitch-bend and slide between notes in a way that's far different from what you can do on a standard keyboard or synthesizer. However, price is a big barrier to entry -- the Seaboard Rise starts at $800, while its full-size counterpart will set you back $2,000 or more. But Roli has been working on a way to bring its unique music-creation tools down to a much lower price point, and it's taking the wraps off those efforts today. Roli Blocks are a set of modular synth controllers that snap together and hook up to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth. They're tiny and inexpensive: The main controller, called the Lightpad, is a small square (less than 4 inches to a side) that sells for $179. That's significantly cheaper than Roli's other products. And while you can't play the Lightpad like a keyboard, the short time I spent playing with it and the other Roli Blocks convinced me that it's still a powerful, flexible and fun music-making tool.
Roli's quirky musical keyboard is now an iPhone app
When ROLI introduced the Seaboard -- a quirky interpretation of the musical keyboard -- it was hard not be curious. But, at $2,000, that's likely where you remained. Even the smaller, more affordable Seaboard Rise was a little out of reach for many casual musicians wanting to try its tactile trickery (watch this to see what we mean). Today, however, there's a ROLI for everyone, as the British firm has just announced Noise: a virtual Seaboard in iPhone app form. If you want to know why Apple's 3D Touch matters, it's apps like this that will show you -- and Noise is much easier on your pocket (in fact, it's free).
The Seaboard Rise is Roli's more affordable rubber-keyed piano
British startup Roli has launched a follow-up to its reimagined keyboard with a continuous, rubberized exterior: this one, however, is quite smaller and a lot more affordable. The Seaboard Rise was designed to be the more portable version of the company's Seaboard Grand instrument released a couple of years ago. It only has 25 keys -- Roli calls them "keywaves," because they do look like waves on a black surface -- whereas the smallest Grand iteration has 37. Thanks to that, though, it will only set you back $800, which sounds more reasonable than the cheapest Grand ($1,999), especially if you just want one for a home studio.
Roli Seaboard Grand up for pre-order, bendable music starts at $2,000
We were pretty impressed with what Roli showed off at SXSW back in March, and now the company's rubberized keyboard is up for pre-order. The instrument is built in a standard piano configuration, with a soft surface that allows you to directly bend pitch and add vibrato and other effects to the notes as you're playing them -- sort of like bending guitar strings. The Seaboard Grand comes in three price configurations that hit a pretty wide spread, starting at $2,000 for the 37-key Grand Studio, all the way up to $8,888.88 for the massive 88 key Grand Limited First Edition. Only 88 of the latter will actually be sold -- a vaguely superstitious pricing scheme, it seems. That one will be shipping in December of this year. The others will start arriving in fall of next year.
Roli's Seaboard is a rubber-keyed piano that may redefine the way you play
Synths are nothing new, of course -- so what makes Roli's digital piano so novel? The instrument has a patent-pending rubberized surface that lets you bend and twist the keys as you play, freeing you from fiddling around with knobs, so you can directly, physically affect the way it sounds. Think of it as the difference between bending a string on a guitar, rather than stepping on the wah-wah pedal. It's the sort of thing you really have to see in action to appreciate -- thankfully, we've got the instrument's creator Roland Lamb giving us a demo after the break.%Gallery-181387%
