For nearly a decade, New Orleans organist and inventor David Rolston, better known as Quintron, had harbored a particular dream: to build a synthesizer controlled by the weather. As a touring musician, he could never find the time. And then, in 2011, he was diagnosed with lymphoma.
“Theoretically, blind people could experience a sunset through sound.” While undergoing chemotherapy, Quintron was stuck at home. “I spent much of the time on my front porch building prototypes,” he says. “It brought me peace during a dark time.” The resulting instrument, called the Weather Warlock, has sensors that detect sunlight, temperature, wind, and moisture. A custom circuit board transforms those weather patterns into droning noises.
Quintron tuned the synth to a harmonious chord—E major— and used intervals that are “mathematically sympathetic”: octaves,…
