This month, Edmonton’s St. Arnaud released his debut album The Cost of Living. The album title was intended for a record by his former project North of Here, but tragically Ian St. Arnaud’s former bandmate, roommate, and friend Luke Jansen passed away in an accident before that record could be recorded. In his recent CKUA session, Ian performed an acoustic rendition of “Morning Dreamer”, the album’s lead single. “This song is about that last morning we got to spend together before that happened,” St. Arnaud shared with Grant Stovel. “This song means a lot to me, and how we looked at the world.”
Ian wanted to honour his friend and their former band, so he moved forward on reworking the tracks for The Cost of Living. “There was no alternative, this is what we wanted to do. And through that, this is what I wanted to do. And I decided this is what I had to do. It’s hard to explain, you just have to find that next chapter. This is the best way I still get to acknowledge that one.”