Scotland's Skoog Music is all about making music easy and fun. Five years ago the company launched a touchy-feely cube on Indiegogo that could be picked up and played in minutes. Now a new big-buttoned melody maker has been announced called the Skwitch.
Again being launched on Indiegogo, the Skwitch combines an iPhone dock that's home to a big single squishy button and a music creation app. Essentially users just need to press the button to play notes on the screen in the app.
"It works like magic (... but actually it's science), with no electronics and no batteries to worry about charging," said Skoog. "Skwitch clips straight onto your iPhone to create a versatile musical instrument that is super low-cost and amazingly expressive. Fun and easy to get started, you don’t need an in-depth understanding of theory or technique. With Skwitch you can just dive right in."
The device is clamped onto an iPhone and uses the phone's onboard sensors to let the app know when and how the button is being pressed – so players can set the tempo and dial in some expression. The Skwitch also caters for song creativity, with users able to create melodies simply by pushing icons around on a scale. And it's completely passive too, meaning that you only have to worry about keeping your iPhone's battery topped up.
Skoog reckons that the device is ready to ship but has launched on Indiegogo to engage with Skoogists on the development of the app. Backers are being invited to "take over" the dev team and vote for new features and let the company know exactly what its future users want to see.
Supporters need to pledge at least £22 (about US$28) to get in on the action. The video below has more.
Source: Skoog Music