LFC-002 is Salt Bloom

It doesn’t take long to realize that The Great Chameleon War is a strange beast of an audiodrama—just a few seconds of the trailer will make that obvious, really. The writing is complex and multi-layered, each episode a savoury treat that reveals more of itself with every re-listen. You might be surprised upon listening to discover that it’s mostly the work of one person: producer Justin Hellstrom, who writes, produces, and scores every episode in addition to playing the main character, the Amanuensis. This combination—a jack-of-all-trades producer who creates endlessly re-listenable audiodrama—seemed to me ripe for a Local Files Club release. Luckily, Justin agreed, and had an idea in the holster ready to go.

The result is Salt Bloom, a rich sci-fi mini-epic about a lone planetary probe exploring the endless ocean of Salsuné 11b, a wet and salty rock far from our known solar system. Presented in two parts, Salt Bloom is a captain’s log from a rogue Soln SARC-17 unit as it goes a bit mad searching for life and meaning on a planet where both appear in short supply. Despite the constant state of failure, the SARC-17 never stops searching, even when it means risking its own consciousness.

There are so many things I love about Salt Bloom that it’s hard to know where to start. The writing is beautiful and weird—unsurprising if you’re familiar with Justin’s other work—and Justin’s performance as the SARC-17 is wonderfully human. I particularly love the playful way he performs the SARC-17’s beeps and bops. The sound design and the score are tightly integrated in a way that only audiodrama can pull off. People throw around the word “immersive” a lot when describing audiodrama. Salt Bloom goes beyond immersive—it creates an entirely new world unlike our own and submerges you into it like a fish in an aquarium.

You need to hear it to believe it. Luckily, there’s a trailer, and Justin has even animated a full visual companion to the audio, which you can watch over on Bandcamp. And hey, while you’re there, you can pre-order Salt Bloom and get the first part right now, with the full show releasing on 6 February.

In addition to the two-part audiodrama, Salt Bloom includes a bonus “lost log,” the full original soundtrack, and a twelve-page illustrated artbook detailing the psyche of a Soln SARC-17 unit—all for just £6.

If you need any more convincing, you can read the full liner notes for Salt Bloom over here, including lovely quotes about the show and Justin’s other audiodrama projects.

As always, Local Files Club releases are completely DRM-free, and once you buy the files, they are yours to own until file formats become irrelevant. If you’re too used to streaming and have forgotten what to do with files, check out our listening guide.