Music of the Mountains: Godlazer (Christopher Caligaris)

Welcome Godlazer back to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, where we have DJ Christopher Caligaris talking about his creative resurgence and his personal musical journey. Learn more about him in preparation for his upcoming appearance at The Vault on May 15th from 5 to 9 p.m.!

In the five years since the release of his most recent album, Electric Caribou, instrumental and electronic musician Christopher Caligaris has primarily focused on his career as a water treatment operator. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, though, he’s continued writing, building a catalog of tracks.

“I’m sitting on about 22 tracks, 14 of which, I think, are almost ready to release,” says the DJ, who performs under the moniker Godlazer. “A lot of the process of making music, for me, is therapeutic.”

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 2:45

Sure. My name's Christopher Caligares, and I do a music project called God Laser.

SPEAKER_03 2:51

Sweet. And I did want to ask as well, is God Laser going to be performing again in the near future? Is there a show coming up for God Laser in general?

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Yeah. April 15th, I will be playing Eldora Ski Hill, playing at the Alpha and Glow list, the Woodward box, from 9 to noon. Perfect.

SPEAKER_03 3:12

And yeah, and so we're here to kind of talk about a recent musical journey that you've been going on. And so I don't know, do you want to just kind of guide us through the basics of what's been happening recently in re-exploration of a lot of releases that you have or a lot of previous tracks that you've worked on?

SPEAKER_02 3:29

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So I've I've kind of hung my hat up for the last going on about five years since my last big release. And during that time, I started a new career as a water treatment operator. And I've been following that path for a while now, and it's taken a lot of my focus. But I haven't stopped writing during that five years. And some of the songs that I have coming out are as old as the whole lockdown during COVID, I was writing music then, and as new as tracks that I've been writing this year. So it really spans quite a long time now for me. And I'm sitting on about 22 tracks, 14 of which I think are almost ready to release. And a big part of what's inspired me to dive in deep lately has been the pain of learning that my father has been diagnosed with terminal cancer again. He got cancer in 2015 and beat it, we thought, but it came back again. And I I wrote an album then dedicated to him called Every Breath Precious because he had lung cancer. And I'm almost hesitant to call the next album Every Breath Precious 2, part two. I haven't decided yet on the title of this next album. But a lot of my process, a lot of the process of making music for me is therapeutic, and it's through a lot of my own pain and suffering that I start to come to songs that I feel like have meaning and has a lot of purpose in my life, but yet doesn't encapsulate that. I don't write it into my lyrics, but I put it into the sound, how I'm feeling. And I wanted to touch on this because I feel like a lot of artists do this. They work through their own issues sometimes through creating and transmuting the energy that they're feeling into works of art that others enjoy. And uh I found this process to be really healing. And it's through this transformation of the feelings that I find new meaning when I listen to it again. And maybe a time when I'm the most sad, when I'm at my lowest, I create something that that is beautiful in its own right, and that someone else would experience it maybe with joy. And I always find that transformation just amazing because maybe there's a time when I'm feeling angry and I make a song that reflects that, you know, and it's got a heavy bass line that's basically my anger coming out onto the piano. And it it creates a banger of a track, lots of energy in that track. And when someone hears it, they may get down to it and and have a totally different experience than how I was feeling at the time of writing it. And I just wanted to touch on that because when I was dealing with the pain of coping with my father's illness right now, I saw others doing the same thing. For example, there was a friend of mine that had recently lost his father, and through music, he was dealing with that pain. And I reached out to him and I I said, you know, this is really touching to me because I'm going through the same thing. And I think that's really what I want to share in this story is that any artist out there, any person out there that maybe is going through a really tough time in their life, I encourage them to get creative and to put those feelings down and capture how you're feeling and put it into a work of art because I believe it gives way to kind of like a ripple effect that maybe will inspire someone else again. And I I think that really is the most powerful thing about art in our culture is the human element of it. And I'm sorry, that's quite a ramble I went on, but I just wanted to explain why I'm doing this interview.

SPEAKER_03 7:54

Yeah, no worries at all. Yeah, really appreciate you taking the time to talk about all that. And uh it's clear that music has had a very connective and availing a very healing quality to it that has always stuck out to you. And so is there if there's something about the style of music that you have embraced as your own specifically that has kind of emphasized those qualities of of music that have been so special to you.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Yeah. And I think that's what connects us to music is that it touches on deeper feelings that maybe you can't put into words, but you can put it into sound. For sure.

SPEAKER_03 8:28

And one of the things that I was curious about in terms of the looping you back in is inspirations that have kind of hit you over the years in terms of especially of artists and and albums that have that have stuck out to you. We have a new supplementary publication called Security Currents, and we're doing a column called Under the Influence. So I wanted to check with you if there were a couple of albums especially that that have really stuck out to you and influenced a lot of that over the years.

SPEAKER_02 8:53

Yeah, so more recently, I have to say Hipper's last release, Cloaked, just came out after he did his final performance at Red Rocks in the summer, which I went to with some of my best friends. Tipper's been a huge influence on me for a really long time. I used to do press for a lot of festivals and I used to interview artists. On top of me doing music myself, I really loved to get backstage and get behind the scenes. And that's where I met Dave Tipper, actually, was backstage Sonic Bloom in Georgetown way back when. And that's a time when I was really budding as an electronic artist. So I'd say a lot of my friends during that time influenced me heavily. Janssen, Hillsmith, Project Aspect, Unlimited Gravity, Cruise Kid, a lot of the people that we're hanging out with at the time, a lot of Colorado artists, electronic artists, they have influenced me heavily. And it's funny enough, I I actually was more of an instrumentalist before I got into DJing or making bass music. I played in a Nordic death metal band in high school, played lead guitar. I was an instrumentalist through and through. And so it was when I I moved to Boulder that I started to get exposed to the underground electronic music scene. And so a lot of artists in those circles really influenced the music that I was making at the time, which then ultimately became God laser. I made my first album in 2010, and uh I have quite a few releases since then, but all of them influenced by the same kind of underground music scene, which was the underground bass music scene in Colorado. Yeah, so and uh a lot of artists that I got to play with also influenced me. I opened for the Crystal Method, for example. He I've been listening to Crystal Method for a long time. I got to open for Closey. Closey was huge influence on my music. Uh in 2015, she was just starting to really get going, and I had the pleasure of playing with her at the Fox Theater in Boulder. I got to play with the Glitch Mob at Boulder Theater. They also influenced me heavily during that time. A lot of these artists were just starting to make some of the genres that are really big now: glitch hop, dubstep, drum and bass, house, future house. All of the artists that have been contributing to those uh genres have all influenced me a lot, I would say. So there's a just a few. Lately, uh Of the Trees, his new album. Oh gosh, it's uh breath of fresh air, my opinion. And uh a lot of underground UK bass artists have influenced me a lot over the years. E Mal K, Solardo, Tipper is a UK artist. A lot of that bass sound out of there has influenced me a lot. UK Dub Set, Garage, all that has had an influence on my sound. But I also like to bring more live instruments into the mix: pianos, bass sounds, acoustic drums, you know, a lot of elements that maybe aren't totally specific to electronic. And so it's kind of a blend of a lot of different sounds in my arsenal.

SPEAKER_03 12:27

Amazing. And in general, as an artist, what has been most expressive to you about this about the music that you've kind of delved into, especially since it is more instrumental and it is it does focus more on the on the feeling of the actual music and not necessarily the one, you know, lyrical message. So what do you think is most expressive about what you have ended up creating over the years?

SPEAKER_02 12:49

Yeah, I feel like a good song comes from a human place to begin with. Uh one of the reasons I moved up here to the mountains from Boulder was to get away from a lot of the influences around me and find my own sound and find who I am and what my music sounds like. And for a while I stopped listening to anyone, and I started to just listen to myself and listen to what's coming through me. And I think that touches on what God Laser is even about for me. The God laser, in my opinion, is the energy that comes through you from this place of unknown origin, right? So you get this inspiration that flows through you. It can happen on stage, it can happen in the studio, where whatever instrument you're playing on, all of a sudden you're in this butter zone where everything's clicking, and it this energy, I feel like, just comes through you, and you're like this vessel for creative energy, and that's the gob laser coming through you, right? And so I would go up to the mountains, sitting on the top of a mountain by myself, and just meditate and not think about anything, right? Try to think about stillness, just total emptiness. And there a melody would start to come through for me. And all of a sudden, this melody would come through me so strong that I would say, Wow, that that is an amazing melody. I'm gonna sing it. I'm gonna sing this melody the whole way down the mountain to my car. I'm gonna get in my car, I'm gonna keep singing this melody all the way to my studio. Get into my studio and jam it out on the piano and hit record. And that's the beginning of my track. And after I started doing this kind of thing where I really focused on what's coming through me, you know, and listening to it. I think that's when I started to create things that were bigger than myself, you know? And it resonated with a lot of people. They listen to it and they go, dang, I really I really love that melody. What how did you come up with that melody? And it's through through just sitting with yourself that sometimes I get the best inspiration I could ask for. It doesn't always happen, but when it does, it can be really powerful.

SPEAKER_03 15:17

For sure. And what's been most personally affecting to you about coming back to this music after all this time, spent you know, at this time in your life and just in general coming back to it?

SPEAKER_02 15:27

Yeah, so I gotta say I've been going through a lot of pain around my father having a six-month diagnosis, you know. It's it hits you like a ton of bricks when when a doctor tells you, you know, this can't be cured and this is this is the end, you know. And for me, I didn't have anywhere to get that out. I was trying to do it in one way or another, and then I remembered how music can help help you get through things like this, help you make sense of things like this, and find something meaningful in all of this. And after I started to realize that this has always been there for me and was originally a lot of the reason why I did music was to deal with a lot of things growing up and you know, just being human in general. I think this the whole pain of of losing my father has ignited something in me that says stop ignoring the creative side of yourself and start to express that and dive into it headfirst. And it was like a light that just switched on all of a sudden after years of writer's block and fear and doubt on what I was creating and creating these songs that never got finished, and there was a part of me that just didn't have this fire anymore. And I realized that fire comes from from a lot of pain, actually, for me personally. And so when I started to jam again, it felt good. It felt like a release, it felt like I could transmute these feelings into something that was beautiful instead of sad, you know? And it's funny, after I started posting all these videos of me jamming, my friends came out of the woodwork and they said, Chris, can you throw a little bit of that inspiration my way? Can I get a little bit of that? What what is getting you going all of a sudden? You know, because I I'm not alone. A lot of artists fall into this, great artists fall into this, where all of a sudden they get this crazy writer's block, you know? And I think a part of a part of it was that this life is short and you need to seize the day, and that and when you're faced with death, you realize how short it really is. And that maybe planning for this song that has to be perfect isn't the way to go. Just make the song, get it done and put it out there and see what happens. And I did that, and all of a sudden I'm talking to you. And all of a sudden, promoters in Hawaii are hitting me up again and saying, Let's get you out here again. And all these doors start opening when you put the fear away and start making the music for yourself, for yourself, and through that it becomes for others, you know? And I I've always thought that was something magical with music, is that for me at least, is that when I really put my heart into it and I did it in a genuine way, it just the world all of a sudden opens up to that energy. And my my mom would always tell me that you put it out there and providence moves in. All of these things start to happen. People want to help you promote what's happening. People want to get you heard, and all these things that maybe were in your head that you feared weren't there for you all of a sudden become available. And so I think that's my biggest message is to artists that are trying to make music right now, is don't give in to the fear and doubt that's so easily created when you're creating music. You think, oh, this isn't good enough to release. Release it. See what happens, you know?

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Absolutely. Is there anything, especially now, that you hope people will be able to take away from from your shows and your music? And do you think it's maybe changed a bit from from where it was when you last started performing?

SPEAKER_02 19:38

Yeah, yeah. I went through kind of like a ego death. When I about five years ago, I was killing it. I mean, I really was. I was playing headlining festivals, flying places, hotels, everything's working out. And there was a part in me that started to not like promoting myself, promoting the ego, constantly feeding my own ego. It's difficult to kind of get on that bandwagon all the time. And I think what I needed to do was totally destroy my ego. And so I went into wastewater treatment. I went into water treatment. I I ran water for Netherlands and the wastewater facility there at Ned. And when I started, everyone quit, including my boss. I was left alone as a rookie and I had to figure it out. And it's funny, you know, you think wastewater, you think like you go from DJing to wastewater. It's amazing what happens to me personally, because I went from a venue where everybody wants to go and everybody wants to have a good time to a wastewater facility where no one wants to go and nobody wants to visit, you know? The exact opposite of being a star. It it's, you know, you're dealing with every toilet in town. Like, what's more demeaning than that, right? And for me, it really helped me find myself again because I wasn't caring about, oh, how many views do I have on Facebook or Instagram or how many tickets have I sold for this show or how many CDs have I sold or how many just building this empire around me, right, as the focus. And it was liberating because I didn't have to do that for money anymore. And so when I did do it, when I did do music, I did it because I loved it. The whole reason why I started. And I think finding that in myself, the reasons why I do this really helped me create some of the best music I've created now. And so that was a big part of my journey was taking a step back and finding out why do I do this, you know? And diving into it for the right reasons again. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 22:04

Yeah, and and in general, is there is there anything about just this journey over the last two years or anything coming up or any you know, anyway.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

Yeah, so I am in the works uh creating a another show in Hawaii on the big island. Um hopefully sometime soon I'll be out there again. I'm dealing with a lot right now, but but I'm hoping that once everything is finished I I might really get back out there and get going again. And I think it's gonna be a whole nother thing this round. And I'm excited about that because music is life in my opinion. You know, it connects us together in a way that no other thing I can think of does. And I'm just excited for what comes next with my heart full open this time.

SPEAKER_03 22:52

Absolutely. Yeah, I d I know, I think unless the unless there's something else in general that one makes sure we talked about, I uh I think those are all the big questions I have.

SPEAKER_02 23:02

I wanted to mention one thing about my father that I think is just a a cool thing about growing up with my dad that shapes who I am. So my my father's hard of hearing and he's never told me to turn it down. Ever. Okay. And I used to jam at my house in Colorado Springs, and I would be laughing it. I mean, so hard that the cops would be showing up at my front door. And my dad would be in the room saying, Hey, sounds good, Chris, while they're knocking on the door. I have to give it up to him because he's always believed in me. And when he did come out to shows and to support me, he you would find him in the backstage. A lot of people called him Papa Laser, and I've always loved that. So I I just wanna shout out to my dad, Dave Calagaras, for always supporting me and allowing me to do what I do with no restrictions. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:06

Beautiful. Thank you so much for coming on and and talking about this and even throwing out the interview in the in the first place. This was this was really great.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

Awesome. I really appreciate your time and I can't wait to see what happens next year.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Chris, for coming on board and joining us for the podcast again. It was great hearing your new perspective on this ongoing musical journey. God Laser, along with Craig Beaman and Bee Random, will be performing in Silent Disco Downtown at the Vault, located at 26 Peak to Peak Highway in Netherland, on Friday, May 15th, 2026, starting at 5 p.m. and going until 9 p.m. It's a free entry event, it's sponsored by the Netherland Downtown Development Authority, it's coordinated by Stephanie Andelman, and all proceeds benefit the Peak to Peak Endurance Foundation. To keep up with God Laser's music and shows, you can find him on Facebook and Instagram, and you can listen to his tracks wherever you get your music. Thank you so much, everybody, for tuning in to this week's Music of the Mountains, Where to Be and What to See, brought to you by the Mountaineer Podcast. Be sure to keep an ear out for the next episode. If you're interested in supporting the Mountaineer newspaper, then be sure to head to the MTNEAR.com and click on the subscribe button in the top right corner of our home page. From there you'll get access to our digital archives and scan copies of our physical newspaper. And you can choose to send a physical subscription to your mailbox or to the mailbox of someone that you love. If you have any questions or suggestions about the paper or the podcast, be sure to reach out to me at media at the mountaineer.com, my co-host, Tyler Hickman at T Y L E R at themountaineeer.com, our editor-in-chief, Barbara Hart, at infotemountaineer.com, and general inquiries at frontdesk at themountaineer.com. A special shout out to our supplementary publication, Caribou Current, which will come out with its third issue very soon. You can learn more about Caribou Current by going to their website, cariboucurrent.com. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and share it around with whoever you see fit. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Podchaser, and more. And finally, be sure to follow the mountain ear on Facebook, Instagram at mtn.ear, and YouTube. I'll see you guys next time. Have a great rest of your day. It's the second track on the album Every Breath Freshest. Written, produced, and performed by Christopher Caligueras as God Laser. You can find Every Breath Freshest and other releases from God Laser wherever you get your music. And be sure to keep an eye out for announcements about his next project, Flappin' A Lion, named after a saying of his podcast. God Laser will be performing with Craig Beaman and D Random in the silent disco downtown event at the Fault, 26 feet to Peak Highway in Netherlands. So be sure to head there on Friday, May 15th from 5 to 9 p.m. to hear him and the other DJs.