Niwot alum comes out with Christmastime-COVID song

If someone were to start belting out "Jingle Bells" in the middle of June, it's a safe bet that someone else would yell something along the lines of, "Stop that, it's not Christmas yet!" Similarly, there have been numerous posts on social media where people have put up their trees in early to mid-November with the caption, "Is it too early?"

But with COVID ravaging the world for the past nine months and people being cooped up inside, time has seemed a bit stranger this year. People have been wanting to find time to spend together, but with restrictions increasing, especially recently, that's been so much harder.

That was the inspiration behind Niwot alum Daniel Fiamengo's new song, "Can't Close Christmas," set to be released on Dec. 4.

"I had the idea of 'Can't Close Christmas,' for a really long time," said Fiamengo. "I sort of went back and forth between 'this is fun and I love Christmas,' and then there's the very real acknowledgement of 'this is where we are' and it's kind of a bummer."

The song, which is just over four minutes long is a simple but beautiful melody. Recorded on his friend's baby grand piano, Fiamengo sings what many of us have been feeling for months now. In fact, it's interesting because to listen to it absent-mindedly, it almost sounds like any Christmas song you'd hear in those Hallmark holiday films during a slow dance. It has all of the romantic aspects of classic, slower holiday music; even referencing a few classic tunes itself.

But, when you listen to the words, you hear references to making sourdough bread and social distancing. As such, the song straddles the boundary between jolly holiday feelings and the cabin fever from COVID.

"I feel like maybe you could write a song about a really terrible world event and have this positive, 'it's going to be okay' [attitude]," Fiamengo said. "I like that you can recognize the fact that it's still going on in Christmas...I like it is a complicated tapestry of emotions, I do think it's a reflection of how people feel."

Fiamengo chuckled when describing part of the writing process. "It's a really somber [song], and then there's 'Jingle Bells,'" referencing the final notes at the end. He also explained that part of the impetus for the song was to write more music, but to transition away from his previous single, "Stupid in Love."

He explained, "I wanted it to be different from the first one... I quit my job and spent all of my money on audio equipment. Not only do I have to produce something different, but on a shoestring budget."

That's when the idea hit him: what do musicians do when they're trapped inside during a pandemic, they write music, with whatever they have around them. He explained that this illusion was behind the initial idea and how, to an extent, it survived through the rest of the writing and recording process.

"For this song, I really wanted it to sound like someone was in my living room listening to me play," he said. So, one day, he went over to his friend Brennan Stuart's house--the two musicians were the only ones there, and maintained social distancing--and with Fiamengo on one level playing, and Stuart on another level of the house recording the session and giving notes. "The piano sounded amazing...I was really fortunate to get the opportunity," said Fiamengo.

You can stay up to date with Fiamengo and even pre-save the song by using the link on his Instagram page @danielryanfiamengo, or by clicking by clicking here..