“The tragedy here is that it was always fundamentally a great company,” another former employee says. “A lot of what made it great was the sort of all-powerful vision of the founder. But that was so obviously the critical flaw.”
Begin Again
Along with other touch-sensitive devices like the Linnstrument and the Sensel Morph, Roli was a key company in the rise of MIDI polyphonic expression (MPE) devices. MPE technology lets players control a note’s pitch and timbre through touch-based movement. Pressing or sliding fingers over the device’s surface produces varying MIDI notes that capture more expressive playing.
While inventive, Roli’s instruments were altogether very niche—a hard product category to build an Apple-sized audience around. Roli certainly tried, partnering with Apple to sell its Roli Blocks in Apple Stores. Alas, the pandemic caused dire supply chain issues, and the company couldn’t keep up with orders. After the pandemic, bankruptcy, and the rebrand, little remained to push the company forward except the founder’s will.
“This was one of the leading lights of music technology in the world,” one former employee said. “It was truly an inventing company—the stuff it made had never been made before. So it’s a real shame.”
The response to Roli’s collapse hasn’t been pure dismay. After months of delays and frustration, Reddit users have gathered to mourn the company—and to make sure its devices keep working.
Sam Hocking, a UK audio engineer who runs an audio tools company called Demix.me, also owns multiple Roli Seaboard Blocks. Even before Roli went into administration, Hocking had been building software that could keep the equipment working as a capable MIDI device. He shared his vibe-coded configuration tools in the Roli subreddit and on GitHub, so Roli’s Grand, Rise, Airwave, and Block devices can work without the Roli launcher.
Hocking says his Seaboards are nearly 10 years old and still working. Despite the company’s rocky history and poor communication, he still wants to keep his devices. They’re high quality, cost a good chunk of money, and feel somewhat irreplaceable.
He’s not alone. Other users on the subreddit have joined in, adding their own tweaks and fixes to the software that may keep at least a few of these devices alive.
“They’re quite a unique product; there’s not another keyboard type out there,” Hocking says. “Nobody likes to spend money and then not be able to use it.”