ROLI's 'BLOCKS' Lego-Style Music Creation System Now Available at Apple Stores Worldwide

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.

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.

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.