TRAPTOR drops NEW four-track bass-laden ‘Time’ EP via Badkill Records [EP Write-Up]

TRAPTOR unleashes his ‘Time’ EP on Badkill Records – bearing 4 new tracks, spanning bass music’s fiery subgenres.

TRAPTOR showcases his all-new sound for 2025 and beyond, plus his collab w/ NOVA DUBZ (debut release).

[Washington D.C.-based] Bobby Ticsay, best known as TRAPTOR has just dropped a nuclear-level EP on Badkill Records.

Bassheads far and wide better buckle down and lock in for this one.

His bass-laden Time EP brings four brand new tracks, and it’s TRAPTOR at his heaviest, dirtiest, and most laser-focused end-product yet.

Whether you’re deep in the riddim trenches or neck-snapping dubstep, ready for futuristic soundscapes, some phonk fusion, or melodic bass laced with mayhem, this quartet of tunes hit every pressure point on your soon-to-be broken audio-thirsty anatomy.

Each installation into this Time EP is a larger-than-life-sounding highly textured body of work, and ultimately his utmost profound proof of concept yet.

While he has a repertoire of memorable releases, mixes, and mashups – with his Time EP; TRAPTOR is gearing up to rip a hole in the fabric of space and time itself, marking himself as one to watch as 2025 continues to unfold.

As a veteran of opening for, supporting, and playing alongside major acts like LAYZ, Vastive, Loud Luxury, and Kliptic, we are certain this list will only grow now since the release of his Time EP on Badkill Records.

Needless to say, it’s time!

Let’s talk about these new tunes, yeah?

Track 1.) Time

First up, Time is a time-warping, screwface-inducing opener that launches you straight into the chaos. Sitting at an impressive near-four-minute 3:59 runtime, and it’s jam-packed full of color bass hits, and upbeat future bass-laden drops. It’s all crunch, clank, and clocked-out drops – like your brain is melting in slow motion then it’s hyped up in the blink of an eye. Time is ultra-mechanical in that respect, it has a myriad of sounds.

Wildly mind-altering to its core.

Track 2.) Midnight Wave

Then there’s Midnight Wave, which dives deeper into that eerie, spatial zone. The synth work is haunting and feels like it’s echoing through an alien bunker, spinning out of control, and then the drop hits with an all-encapsulating bassline that envelopes ‘drop It’ – in textbook TRAPTOR-like fashion. The drop hits with a lurching, off-grid flow that’s pure festival weaponry. This one’s for the heads who like it unhinged but controlled.

Track 3.) Heartbeat

Track three is Heartbeat – arguably the most melodic tune on the EP. This is where the crybang crew will thrive. Euphoric loops, angelic-like leads, and graceful kicks that ignite hope right through your heart’s strings… UNTIL IT DROPS (again), with a devastating bass-laden blow.

The contrast from the upbeat and bright note arrangements, piano notes, and other instrumentals sees its darker juxtaposition in real-time, and the sonic collision is beautiful. Straight up rail-grabber fuel.

Track 4.) Vibe Check

And finally, we’ve got Vibe Check – the standout collaboration with Nova Dubz, who’s making their debut appearance and release here.

Their feature brings fresh energy to TRAPTOR’s style with a visceral combo of new-age phonk and dubstep in one helluva stadium-sized collab, brimming with highlight soundscapes that bring surefire dance mode in full effect.

Think eerie build, monstrous growls, and a gut-twisting drop that goes full deathray mode. It’s filthy, futuristic, and unrelenting.

Overall, Time, an EP is a statement. It shows TRAPTOR is not only leveling up but also building with new blood. Don’t sleep on this one – Badkill Records let a four-track heater loose and it’s on the prowl.

TRAPTOR’s Time EP is out now everywhere.

Stream it, playlist it, and blast it till your subs cry (or croak).

Let’s chat w/
TRAPTOR & NOVA DUBZ

We asked: What’s the backstory behind your Time EP on Badkill Records?

TRAPTOR: For me, this all came about during a period of silence on my end. The last release I’ve had was back in 2021 when there were so many things going on with my life personally which made me have to take a back seat on music production and performance. Speaking of 2021, that was really a big year for me. I came out with the Kirei EP and won a remix competition with Trap Festival Records. I was associated with Later Tonight, an agency that had amazing artists such as LAYZ, Vastive, and Kliptic on their roster. Things started to slow down towards the end of the year and Later Tonight and I had to part ways since I felt like I had to focus on other things at that time. I bought a house, got promoted in both my civilian job as a program developer and also in the Marines as a Gunnery Sergeant.

Only until the next year did I finally have some time to get back to music. If you think about it, usually when personal life takes front and center stage, hobbies and pastimes either stagnate or evaporate.

For me though, music has always been a passion and I’ve always wanted to achieve that goal I’ve set my mind to, which is to one day release with bigger labels and perform at festivals. So in late 2022, I made several significant investments in getting back into music, from buying better decks to building a studio in the new house to taking a full-on course with Cosmic Academy.

From there, I was able to level up both my production and branding skills to represent my style, as best as I could. The biggest thing I wanted to represent is the diversity of sound that I love, rather than sticking to just one formula of a genre and rinsing and repeating said genre. I love all types of music, including the different sub-genres of bass music. That is what I wanted to convey with each respective track on the Time EP; different yet maintaining its own identity.

I came up with the song “Time” before going into Cosmic Academy as it was an idea that floating in my head for a long time. I wanted to showcase my musical technicality by altering time signatures mid-song, as well as diversifying styles throughout the tune. I sat on this song for a while until I finally decided, “it’s time’.”

For “Midnight Wave.” I’ve always been obsessed with synthwave, vaporwave, and anything that had a retro sound to it, but wanted to make something that had a modern vibe to it. I don’t think I’ve ever released something that had like a deep dubstep vibe before, so this was uncharted territory for me, but I always love the challenge. It ended up having a lot of inspiration from both Barely Alive and LSDream in my opinion.

Then there’s “Heartbeat,” which I composed for a Discovery Project submission to be reviewed by Slander. I wanted something melodic and sat down in front of my keyboard to freestyle the melody and what’s heard on the actual song was the first take. I also wanted to do something a little bit more aggressive for the second drop and ended up with a riddim-esque drop with my flourishes.

One thing I’ll have to clarify with all the songs, including my collab with NOVA DUBZ is that all the arpegios were composed, not generated, and tracked live.

We asked: Regarding your collaboration with NOVA DUBZ on Vibe Check, what was going through both of your heads in the process of that tune? What were those vibes like in the studio?

NOVA DUBZ:
“The idea for Vibe Check came from messing around with some Serum presets in Ableton one night. We came up with a nice MIDI track, then I started adding all the elements to the first drop. Over a few long sessions, we started to lock in and came up with something truly unique to both of our styles. What we got was a mix between Phonk and Riddim, a combination I haven’t heard much of before. We both said numerous times how the track was a vibe, and with that, we had a name, and our first collab “Vibe Check” was born.”
– says NOVA DUBZ

We asked: What’s next for TRAPTOR? Let us know your plans for the rest of 2025!

TRAPTOR: “You can expect more new music from me this year. One of my biggest problems in the past was release consistency, but I always tell myself, “If they haven’t heard you, they’ll never hear of you.” That’s what I’m planning on changing, with new releases on the horizon and shows in the future.

I’ve also been working on new branding assets, logo refreshes for the year along with new merchandise.

Just recently, I’ve approved a jersey design to be piloted with the potential of being released to the public pending feedback. But the most important thing for me this year is to be present in the scene. I know I’ve taken a step back from it for a couple of years, but I’m more than ready to put my name out there again.”
-says TRAPTOR

/// OUT NOW \\\

⇛● STREAM ●⇚