Crookers
Crookers is the Milan-based electro house project of Francesco Phra Barbaglia, who began DJing at age 11 after discovering Italian hip-hop and formed the act as a duo with Andrea Bot Fratangelo in 2003. The pair worked together until Bot's departure in October 2012, after which Phra announced he would continue Crookers as a solo project. Their remix of Kid Cudi's Day 'N' Nite reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, and the group later remixed U2's Get On Your Boots and tracks by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Timbaland and AC/DC, output that fed directly into their DJ sets across European and American club dates. In 2009, Crookers DJed on ElectroChoc, the in-game radio station of Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, and their music appeared in Midnight Club: Los Angeles and Need for Speed: Nitro. Their debut album, Tons of Friends, arrived in 2010 on Southern Fried Records, followed by a November 2010 deal with Interscope and the 2011 album Dr Gonzo, which returned to the duo's original electro house style before Phra carried the project forward alone through releases on Ciao Recs and Owsla.