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.
âTheoretically, blind people could experience a sunset through sound.â While undergoing chemotherapy, Quintron was stuck at home. âI spent much of the time on my front porch building prototypes,â he says. âIt brought me peace during a dark time.â 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 chordâE majorâ and used intervals that are âmathematically sympatheticâ: octaves,âŚ
