Skylight: Playing with purpose

A band can be pitch perfect, but the lack of feeling behind their performance leaves the audience wanting more.

This was definitely not the case at Skylight’s album launch, held at Tanz Live. The band, led by vocalist Greg Jorden, managed to connect with their audience without losing the professional edge that has no doubt been the secret to their success.

The rest of the band is made up of Wesley Ayliffe playing lead guitar, Peter Klein on bass and Bradley Cumming on drums. Their new album, Made For More, is the band’s first full-length collection and seems to have been born from sweat, tears, and a whole lot of heart.

The band performed a combination of ballads and catchy rock songs which all appeared to have the central theme of love. Before performing the new album’s title track, Jorden told the crowd that the song was about encouraging people to live with purpose, a message that comes through strongly in many of their other songs as well.

The band weaved a bit of Coldplay’s Yellow into one of their ballads, a clever ploy, as Jorden’s voice has been compared to that of Chris Martin. This was definitely the high point of the show, with some

people singing along earnestly while one or two rocked out as if they were at a musical festival.

If sentimental music isn’t your cup of tea, though, then perhaps Skylight won’t appeal to your musical sensibilities. The band doesn’t pull any punches about the fact that they make feel-good, emotive music aimed at spreading a positive message.

This is probably what sets them apart from many of the cookie-cutter South African acts using the same formula. Skylight seem to be truly passionate about their craft as well as every word they sing and every note they play. When you watch them live it’s hard not to get caught up in it all, even if you are a bit of a cynic.