ROLI is a company founded in 2009 by Roland Lamb. They create hardware and software products that are designed to blur the lines between people and technology.
ROLI is a company founded in 2009 by Roland Lamb. They create hardware and software products that are designed to blur the lines between people and technology.
There are currently two physical products ROLI offer, Seaboard GRAND and Seaboard RISE.
They have both been designed with beautiful and effortless aesthetics with intuitive controls. Motion has been an early thought on this design where you can slide your finger to create multiple effects including the control of levels, and sliding up and down the note keys to form something similar to the action of sliding your finger up and down the neck on a guitar.
This overview video does a great job of simply explaining what is possible. It seems the focus is around expression and giving the user not just a set of black and white keys, but more of a familiar template with more room for experimentation.
The Seaboard GRAND is more of a full piano experience, whereas the RISE is more of the traditional midi controller. The RISE will set you back £599.99 of your finest British pounds, which seems a lot of cash to part with, so I would recommend trying one before making the purchase.
You can keep up to date with all of their products on their website here.