Ian Janco’s new single, ‘Keep out the Cold‘ is not a timely reminder to have the boiler serviced in time for the winter or to lay in a stock of fuel for the wood burner in that isolated cabin in the forest that is the typical dwelling of the singer-songwriter. In fact it really isn’t about the weather at all, it’s a song about feeling homesick, of relocating somewhere and not yet having the connections that make it really feel like that elusive new home.
Californian Ian Janco, who grew up on Carole King’s ranch where his parents both worked and had access to her studio facility, relocated to London – but this song was recorded in Bristol with Luke Sital-Singh (who also provides the backing vocals). Somewhat ironically Sital-Singh was preparing to leave to relocate to LA.
As Ian Janco explains “I wrote and recorded Keep Out The Cold with Luke Sital-Singh on a rainy day at his home in Bristol. He was getting ready to move to LA with his girlfriend, and I was feeling the weight of being away from my family and friends on the west coast. So we were both in a similar headspace about the concept of “home”, and the song evolved organically out of this conversation. At the time, my grandmother was very ill, and her light was fading. I felt guilty that I couldn’t be there to support her and my family. It was making me question my decision to move to the UK, and just generally making me wonder what home actually is beyond a roof over our heads. You can hear that vulnerability and homesickness in my voice, and we decided to just release the demo we made that day because it captured something very honest. I didn’t want to lose that honesty.”
