State of Illusion sits on the mantle of progressive rock with some ambiance and emotion thrown in for good measure. Basically, it’s a mood, and a big one. Formed in South Carolina in 2005, the band has had a cozy career thus far, but hopes to break into the next level. Their new re-release is dedicated to the memory of Jaxson Braylee Dabbs and Joe Porter and highlights a personal journey through isolation, grief, and endurance. Vocalist Jacob Porter took it upon himself to fully write and produce this album himself. 

“It’s so cool to look back, even in a little blip, and [see] where you started, where you are now, and all the moments in between. How you’ve grown and evolved and made mistakes and learned from them. It’s so crazy to really put it all into that type of perspective.”

Pluto’s Ghost was originally released in 2021, but didn’t get the ears on it that everyone was hoping for, which can be attributed to a variety of reasons, some in and some out of their control. Handling a re-release is a different animal, too. At first, Porter saw little details he wanted to change, but thought about his love for Star Wars – when George Lucas put out special editions and changed some things here and there, he noticed, and believed it lost a little bit of its magic.

“We did not change anything with Pluto’s Ghost. It’s a beautiful album people need to hear. We’re hoping a re-release allows new listeners to come in and help things move forward. This is [also] for those that have been around; we have a group of dedicated listeners that we love. We love everybody that’s been around for us.”

When Porter was writing this album five plus years ago, it was just him; the lineup had just fallen through, and he knew we wanted a change in direction from their previous album. It was a major struggle at first trying to jumpstart everything again, especially alone. He was worried that he was losing his gift of music and that he was done.

“I just couldn’t find anybody, not just locally, but anywhere that was on board with that vision. I reached out to hundreds of people. It was pretty disheartening when it was just me. I really wanted to write outside of my writing box, my bag of tricks. Having to do that on my own was a challenge. I put a lot of pressure on myself.”

For Porter, though, it’s in his blood. Anytime he would think about throwing in the towel, the next day he would wake up and say, “No dude, you love this.” It’s been about two decades since State of Illusion, and with this release, they are thrusting themselves back into the spotlight and giving opportunities a chance to blossom. Cherry on top of the cake is that another album is almost fully written; here’s to a bountiful future. 

“We all do this because we love the music and we’re passionate about it. We love each other. We love playing live. We love bringing these songs to life on stage. When we get on stage, no matter what stress has gone on in the lead up, we came to play the game. We’re ready to play and give our best to everybody, and I think people see that when they see us live.”

Photo Credit: Nick Wood

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