Marvel Years and The Voyage Ahead

Innovativeness in electronic music is almost a hallmark of the genre. It evolves at a rapid pace, constantly experiments, rejects any limitations and incorporates anything in its way towards uniqueness, and DJ, Producer, and multi-instrumentalist Cory Wythe is the perfect example of this intensely hungry creative mindset.

Marvel Years thoroughly embraces electric guitar instrumentation magnified by the electronic beat-making soundscapes, and he does so even during his live performances, where he surprises audiences by breaking out of the typical confines of the DJ booth with an axe in hand to riff and pick alongside his digital synth backing.

Marvel Year’s current project is called “Voyage Ahead” an unconventional album that’s being released as a two-part EP, with the first part already available for audiences to pour over, and a second part out now.

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The full ‘Voyage Ahead’ experience will be made complete during Marvel Years’ forthcoming headlining show at Denver’s Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, kicking off this coming October 7th. This particular show will feature featuring Jason Leech alongside Emancipator/Manic Focus drummer Colby Buckler joining the lineup for a unique two-part performance that’s part of a greater nationwide Fall Tour, which will include features at festivals such as Freaky Deaky and Greenway Music Fest.

What drove you to release ‘Voyage Ahead’ a two-part EP?

I wrote part 1 of the EP during the Covid lockdowns while I wrote most of part 2 after things were more normal again so it seemed fitting to split the two up. I wanted to showcase the progression I made musically and stylistically from the beginning of the writing process almost two years ago up until recently when I finished the last couple of tracks. I think it has a nice flow to it from part 1 to part 2 and you can hear the evolution in the sound between the two.

Between the cyberpunk-ish synths and the general cosmic aesthetics, there’s a genuine element of “welcoming the future” in this new project. What do you see coming in the near future for you as a musician or in the industry in general?

I wanted to bring the project into a new and fresh direction while also paying homage to the classic MY style I’ve become known for. With this EP I tried to put more of an emphasis on my guitar playing while also tying in the bass and electronic aspects as well. My future music will be a continuation and evolution of this style with the so-called “drops” of the songs being a guitar-based melody with that bass/electronic element underneath it to complement it. I’m still experimenting with it but I am really stoked about how some of this new music is sounding and I can’t wait to show it to the world.

Again, even the title seems to make it clear that this album is a more obvious before-and-after moment for you. The project was written and produced largely during the pandemic lockdown as it was a time you invested in refining your sound. What do you feel has changed over Marvel years?

I think it’s a similar story to any musician who has been making music for a while, which is that growth is such an important concept when writing music and we as musicians are always pushing ourselves to explore new concepts. It’s natural to try and find that next idea that excites you and this EP  was the beginning of that journey for me. My earlier music consisted of a ton of samples and not much of my own guitar playing, so with my new music, I am trying to bring the guitar to the forefront and really expand on it.

There’s also a gritty nightlife-style sound to this EP. Where do you feel that comes from? is it perhaps New York’s city influence manifesting like that?

Yeah, I think moving to New York right before writing this had a big part to play in the sound. I’ve always been heavily influenced by my surroundings when writing music so with each release you can get an idea of where I was when the writing process began. I wrote a bunch of these songs at night on my balcony looking at the New York City skyline so I’m sure that had something to do with the nightlife-style sound haha

With  ‘Voyage Ahead pt.1’ you hoped to recapture a little of the essence of your live sets, yet you’re headlining an upcoming tour this fall. How do you feel going into these shows and how successful do you feel this album was in encapsulating that feeling?”

This is actually the most excited I have been in a minute for live shows. I haven’t had this much new music to play on a tour in some time and the shows I have done recently where I showcased all of this new music did really well and the audience seemed to really enjoy it. Most of this album was written during a time when we literally weren’t allowed to have live shows at all so I think it’s evident my desire to perform on stage spilt over into the writing process a bit haha.

Marvel Years tour dates

9/10/22 – Same Same But Different – Lake Perris, CA
10/5/22 – 10/6/22: Voyager V – Louisville, KY
10/7/22 – Cervantes Otherside – Denver, CO
10/8/22 – Star Theatre – Portland, OR+
10/9/22 – The Big Dirty – Eugene, OR+
10/29/22 – 10/30/22: Freaky Deaky – Baytown, TX

*Sitting in w/ Manic Focus Live Band

+Support to Papadosio