James Scarborough Interviews Charles Morogiello AKA Spacefuzz About His Album ‘Crush Depth’ A Dub-Sonic Submarine Symphony in Four Sides

The following interview between James Scarborough and Charles Morogiello AKA Spacefuzz was first published February 19, 2025 on “What the Butler Saw.” The two discuss the depth of Morogiello’s creative process and gear in recording Crush Depth, his chef-d’œuvre. This article is published with permission.

Charles Morogiello’s Spacefuzz project “Crush Depth” emerges as a transformative sonic journey that navigates the depths of personal isolation. Through a fusion of psychedelic experimentation and symphonic structure, this double album crafts an underwater soundscape that mirrors the artist’s emergence from crisis into connection.

Morogiello builds upon the influence of Brian Wilson’s contrapuntal innovations. He develops what he terms “counterpoints of counterpoints” to articulate the competing realities within mental health experiences. The album’s four sides progress through distinct emotional territories, from the opening “Crush Depth” through the Valentine’s Day single “Hello Bee” to the epic “Surveillance.”

The production demonstrates masterful technical execution. Dave Cooley’s mastering preserves the intricate layering of modular synthesizers, haunted radio transmissions, and folky narratives. Collaborator Sleepyhouse provides crucial narrative elements. And Morogiello’s pug Marty contributes improvised vocals that add an unexpectedly organic element to the submarine atmosphere.

This work transcends concept album territory. It creates a fully realized emotional environment that chronicles both personal restoration and artistic evolution. Melding experimental techniques with deeply human concerns, Crush Depth establishes itself as a significant achievement in contemporary psychedelic music.

Below follows an email conversation with Charles Morogiello:

JS: Walk us through the technical setup at The Blue Room where you recorded “Crush Depth”.

CM: The Blue Room is a dedicated studio area inside of the loft where I live. The heartbeat of the studio is a soundproofed vault containing two guitar amps, each of which are mic’d with two microphones. This setup enables me to record my guitar signal in stereo, which consists of gobs of echoes and filters ping ponging between amps. In addition to the guitars, I have a bank of Moog synthesizers, an old and slightly out-of-tune Wurlitzer 120 electric piano from the 1950s, a well-stocked toolbox of electric and acoustic guitars, guitar effects pedals and tons of handmade shakers, strikers and things that go klang. Everything is recorded to a Mac-Mini running StudioOne Pro software.

JS: What led you to structure the album as a four-sided work? How does this format serve the narrative?

CM: I knew from Increvable! that the music and concepts I was ideating was going to require a larger canvas. The optimal length for a side of music on vinyl records is roughly 18-20 minutes, which for me equals about two-and-a-half tracks.

The music I make is very often about engaging the listener in the process. Parts introduce themselves, then weave together and form relationships, then reform into new relationships that become refracted, or shattered, or dissolved or recombined.  The process takes time and time equals sides. 

Additionally, I’ve long been an admirer of the vintage prog-rock four-sided epic – “Tales of Topographic Oceans” by Yes, for example – where side three is a single, side-long track. I took the prog-rock archetype and grafted onto it to symphonic form with each side being a movement. There are tons of structural components borrowed from the classical music tradition on the album – the opening track “Crush Depth” is essentially an overture that foreshadows a lot of what happens later. The final track “Shot Through The Heart and Shot Through The Head” is a coda/epilogue.

“The Unexplainable”

JS: How did your collaboration with Sleepyhouse evolve during the recording process, particularly on “The Unexplainable”?

CM: Sleepyhouse is one of my closest and dearest friends from childhood. He is an amazing writer, thinker and musician. Our communication has always been effortlessly wonderfilled and teeming with humor, wit and joy.

I presented Sleepyhouse the concept – how do you explain a profound emotional experience to someone else when you can barely understand it yourself – along with some performance examples from the rock-n-roll literature – “Thela Hun Ginjeet” by King Crimson and “Mission from ‘Arry” by Iron Maiden. He came back with what you hear on the album. It really is an amazing piece of storytelling that conveyed a complicated concept and delivered it with deep emotional impact via a nearly undetectable pastiche of rock music references.

JS: The album’s sound design creates a distinct underwater atmosphere. Detail your approach to achieving this sonic environment.

CM: One of the first tasks I tackled when preparing for the album was to do a study of underwater sonic phenomena – the Doppler effect, how Sonar works and how to trick the brain into hearing items move in a 360-degree way using only stereo. In addition to “Left” and “Right” I started thinking about “up” “down” “near” “far” “around” “behind” “below” and “above.”  I did a recording study to workshop these concepts that became the track “Interrogate.”

In addition to underwater phenomena, I needed to find a way to create the submarine’s operating sounds.  The sound had to have a pulse and be mechanically buzzy yet feel soothing like the click clack of an old Volkswagen.  The sub operating sounds became its own character in addition to a setting.  The sub sounds were created using a “Purpll” phase lock looper effect pedal built by the amazing boutique pedal builder Montreal Assembly. Everything Montreal Assembly makes is uniquely spectacular. Their “Count to 5” delay/sampler is all over “Crush Depth” as well.

Study with the masters.

JS: How did your studies with composers like Mel Powell and Terry Riley influence this project?

CM: I’ve been blessed to have studied with some of the best composition teachers imaginable. Every one of them made a deep imprint on my psyche, musicality and philosophy. They did what every great teacher does: teach the student how to find their own path. Mel Powell taught me how to make abstract music that was sensuous, beautiful and resonant. Terry Riley taught me to explore my curiosity and was the first person to tell me that the challenging, dense music I was making was indeed beautiful. Morton Subotnick taught me to believe in my metaphors and lean on them when decisions are unclear.

Mel also taught me “good composers borrow, great composers steal.” I must be a great composer now, because I stole a ton of Mel, Terry and Mort riffs on Crush Depth. 

Crush Depth is dedicated to Brian Wilson.

JS: Elaborate on how Brian Wilson’s work, particularly “Smile” and “Pet Sounds”, informed your layering techniques?

CM: I spent years learning (and teaching) counterpoint as a student and grad school teacher’s assistant. I love the four B’s of counterpoint – Bach, Brahms, Bartok and the Beach Boys. Few pieces of music bring me to bliss quite like the vocal-only version of the greatest song ever written “God Only Knows.” 

‘Smile’ takes the lessons learned in Pet Sounds and applies them in a symphonic way, using the voices as their own contrapuntal section within an orchestrated electro-rock studio orchestra. You can hear this on “Good Vibrations”, “Cabin-Essence” and my personal all-time favorite Beach Boys track “Surf’s Up.”

Brian Wilson isn’t just a musical inspiration, he is a human inspiration. His mental health journey is well documented. Mental health was one of the contributing factors for “Smile” being abandoned and shelved for forty years. His perseverance in the face of those challenges eventually pushed him to finish the album and experience one of his greatest artistic triumphs. This is why I’ve dedicated “Crush Depth” album to Brian Wilson.

To read the rest of this interview go to James Scarborough’s ARTS MAGAZINE: “WHAT THE BUTLER SAW”