ROLI today introduced a fun new music creation system called BLOCKS, which is scalable, modular, and designed to give people a simple, visual way to create music. Each square-shaped Block has a different function, and multiple blocks can snap together so users can build the music system that's best for them in terms of skill, price, and musical style.


ROLI is announcing three Blocks today, all of which will be available for purchase at Apple retail stores around the world. The Lightpad Block, a 5x5 grid that lights up, supports pressure-based multi-touch gestures, allowing people to use the colored surface for creating music through presses, glides, and other simple hand movements.

rolilightpad
Varying pressure on the block changes the intensity of the sound, multiple fingers can be used at once, and multiple Lightpads can be linked together for a bigger surface to work with.

The Live Block and Loop Block both work alongside the Lightpad Block, which is the main block, offering controls to make it easier to perform and produce music in real time with physical playback and record buttons. All three of the Blocks are controlled via Bluetooth through NOISE, a new app that's available from Apple's App Store.

alltheblocks

Roland Lamb, founder and CEO of ROLI, and inventor of BLOCKS, said, "Many areas of life have been transformed by the digital. Music, though, remains a universal language that everyone understands, but only a few can speak. BLOCKS will change that, and enable people around the world to experience the joy of music-making for the first time."

ROLI Lightpad Blocks are priced at $179.95 each, while the Live and the Loop are priced at $79.95. BLOCKS are available at Roli.com starting today and should soon be available from Apple's online store and in Apple retail locations.

Top Rated Comments

Giantscruz Avatar
113 months ago
Calling that music is being very charitable
Not quite as charitable as your self given right to define what is and isn't music.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MLMcMillion Avatar
113 months ago
Roli Poli Oli!

Now everyone can call themselves a musician by tapping and swiping a few times mindlessly!
Why are you so angry?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdillings Avatar
113 months ago
Calling that music is being very charitable
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
archagon Avatar
113 months ago
If this sort of thing strikes your fancy, I'm working on a streamlined step sequencer for iMessage with a similar focus on collaboration and playfulness. Here's a sneak peak video ('//www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_HaVwb2vF4') I posted a few days ago. ETA a few weeks. Hope this isn't too shilly — seemed on topic! (Especially if you don't want to spend $180 to mess around making music with your friends. Though this does look pretty neat.)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Uni Grad Avatar
113 months ago
Roli Poli Oli!

Now everyone can call themselves a musician by tapping and swiping a few times mindlessly.

/s :D
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
needfx Avatar
113 months ago
wouldn't mind if I received a couple as a gift tho
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
General Spotify Feature

Spotify Preparing to Launch Long-Awaited Lossless Audio Tier on iPhone

Thursday June 19, 2025 1:46 pm PDT by
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier. Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player. With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
Craig Federighi No

John Gruber Reacts to Apple Declining His Interview After His Criticism

Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...