Fergus and Dee have never met in person, but through written correspondence and a shared love of songwriting and music, they have come together and continue to work remotely - writing and sharing. The album, MORNINGHAIRWATER was written under lockdown between May and June 2020. A fervent correspondence of lyrics, ideas and sounds between London and Glasgow, musicians Fergus Lawrie of cult band Urusei Yatsura and Dee Sada of NEUMES/An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump come together as Paper Birch to share their mutual feelings of despair, fragility and hope in this collection of nine songs.

The video was shot on 16mm by Scottish filmmaker Grant McPhee who has directed successful music documentaries, ‘Teenage Superstars’ and ‘Big Gold Dream’.

Fergus Lawrie is a guitarist and songwriter who was a founder member of fondly remembered '90s geek rockers Urusei Yatsura who emerged from the celebrated Glasgow 13th Note scene that also fostered bands such Bis, Delgados, Yummy Fur, Mogwai and Franz Ferdinand. Known for their ferocious live shows and burnt out noise pop songs such as 'Kewpies like Watermelon' and 'Hello Tiger' the band released 3 full albums and toured extensively in Europe and America and were Radio 1 favourites recording sessions for John Peel and the Evening Session. In the 00s he released the album Yoyodyne as the band Projekt A-ko with other former members of Urusei Yatsura. He also released three experimental improvised noise rock albums as Angel of Everyone Murder with fellow members Lea Cummings (Kylie Minoise/Kovorox Sounds) and Sarah Glass (The Fnords). As artist Obscure Desire of the Bourgeoisie he presented several large scale installations featuring guitars and electric fans at Northampton Fishmarket, Dundee School of Art and Glasgow Museum of Modern Art. He also co-produced a documentary about the Glasgow experimental noise scene 'Send/Receive' which was featured at Cardiff Arts Festival.

Multi-instrumentalist Dee Sada has created an eclectic and diverse collection of music over the last 10 years and has worked with a number of international musicians. Whilst in percussive noise band, An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump, she recorded an album with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago. She has also been in electronic duo, Blue On Blue and performance art band ORAL ORAL, which is an ad-hoc group of improv artists that began performing together after a request by artist Wolfgang Tillmans. Dee also performs in the London-based trio, NEUMES who recently recorded a mini album at 4AD studios and supported composer Colin Stetson at the Round Chapel in 2019. She has curated a range of multimedia events which include screenings, spoken word and performances with Raindance Film Festival, Whitechapel Art Gallery and Cafe OTO.

Tracklisting:

1 - Summer Daze [02:23]
2 - Love For The Things Yr Not [03:21]
3 - Elegy (As We Mourn) [02:37]
4 - I Don’t Know You [04:04]
5 - Hide [06:03]
6 - Cemetery Moon [03:42]
7 - Blue Heartbreak [03:15]
8 - Curse Us [02:48]
9 - Fallen [02:52]

Dee Sada

Dee Sada is a London-based musician and curator. She currently performs in Paper Birch with Fergus Lawrie of Urusei Yatsura. The duo released their debut album, 'morninghairwater' via TAKUROKU and Reckless Yes records in 2021. Dee has created an eclectic and diverse collection of work over the last 12 years through projects such as percussive noise band, An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump, electronic duo Blue On Blue and improv performance bands The Noise Bodies and ORAL ORAL.

Dee is currently studying the MFA Curating course at Goldsmiths, University of London and was awarded the inaugural Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Art (CIRCA) scholarship. She was also awarded a 2022-2023 culture seed grant from Culture Mile London. Her curatorial practice is based on inclusion, diversity, sustainability and community-based engagement. She has recently worked on projects with artists Carolee Schneemann and Laure Prouvost.
https://deesada.com
https://circa.art