Breeze Block

Magnetic Granular Synthesizer and MIDI Controller

Breeze Block is a magnetic granular synthesizer and MIDI CC controller. Its surface is divided into eight magnetically sensitive zones that independently react to nearby magnetic fields. By moving magnets across the surface, you can capture audio, that is split into tiny grains, and manipulate them in real-time. Each zone and position on the instrument influences the pitch, density, and texture of the sound differently.

The magnet’s position is tracked in three-dimensional space: X and Y coordinates determine your place within the granular buffer, while Z (depth) affects the overall density of grains. This navigation is based on a Hilbert space-filling curve—a single continuous line that weaves over the entire surface, mapping a stream of samples you move through intuitively. When multiple magnets are placed over the surface, a single coordinate is still derived based on the average position.

Each of the eight zones contributes its unique weighted modulation to the pitch, grain size, randomness, or delay. Both the north and south poles of a magnet will alter different sonic behaviors, with the yellow and red light emitted from beneath the surface indicating the active polarity.

Beyond granular synthesis, Breeze Block outputs eight MIDI CC messages—one for each zone—over USB. It also sends MIDI CC for X, Y, and Z movement, all of which can be mapped to software in a dedicated mapping mode accessed via the side-mounted rotary encoder. Pushing in the encoder, besides entering the MIDI mapping mode, also freezes parameters in place, allowing you to periodically lock the zones to specific settings.

The design concept goes back to an original spark during a tour of the US in 2022. In Las Vegas we were accosted by the variety, vibrance, and abundance of breeze blocks throughout the city and state. Soon after, we toured the Mabel and Victor D'Amico House as part of our residency at the Watermill center in Long Island: they made use of peg boards as a main feature of their furniture and renovation concepts. These two materials, peg boards and breeze blocks have become unignorable to us since then - they are those simple utilitarian things that go completely unnoticed while subtly doing the work of transforming the spaces we inhabit and pass through.