Pharrell Williams has invested in ROLI and become its Chief Creative Officer. The multi-touch instrument company announced that Pharrell will be helping them design the “next generation of music creation devices”. Best known for its Seaboard device, ROLI have created forward-thinking dynamic instruments, having introduced their modular BLOCKS system last year, and the updated Lightpad M only last month. Williams stated that “When I met Roland Lamb and ROLI, I immediately felt we were working towards exactly the same goals, and so I'm super excited that we're kicking off this partnership.”

The announcement coincided with a release of Pharrell's 'Happy' as a studiopack for their NOISE app. Listed as “co-owner” on the ROLI website, it’s assumed Pharrell made a significant investment to the London-based company. Time will tell how the partnership pans out.