Riva Starr, Booka Shade, and Crookers

In the early ‘90s Merziger and Kammermeier were in a synth pop group labeled Planet Claire, but the group soon saw their music starting to evolve into a direction that favored club and house music. After releasing some music under the name Degeneration, the band renamed themselves Booka Shade in 1995 and released the single “Kind of Good”. The next year the group released the single “Silk”, which followed the style of traditional club music. After the release of their two singles the group decided to step away from their club music sound and started composing music for movie soundtracks as well as working as musicians for hire.

In 2002 the group moved to Berlin, Germany and co-founded the record label, Get Physical Music. The label was recognized by DJ Magazine as “Label of the Year” and Pitchfork has compared the label to early Warp Records. In 2004 Booka Shade released their debut album “Memento” under Get Physical Music. The album contained the singles “Vertigo” and “Double Identity” and follows in the traditional house music sounds.

In 2006 the group released their second studio album “Movements”, which contained the singles “Body Language” and “Mandarine Girl”. These two singles helped Booka Shade gain more attention in the world of electronic music as these two singles were popular hits in dance clubs throughout the world. The electronic music publication “Resident Advisor” referred to “Body Language” as “one of the biggest releases of the year” and the pop sensation will.i.am used the song as a sample for his song “Get Your Money”. The album contained chilling synthesizer lines and rattling bass groves in the Euro dance fashion.

Booka Shade’s third studio album “The Sun & the Neon Light” was released in 2008, which contained the hit single “Charlotte”. The album conveyed the group continuing in the style of down tempo music presented in a minimalistic fashion, and received praise from such publications as “Clash Magazine”. Each album Booka Shade releases shows them experimenting with new electronic sounds as well as sticking to some of the fundamental house music sounds that they are so respected for creating. In 2010 they released the album “More!” and in 2014 they gained notoriety for their single “Love Drug”.

Apart from composing original music, Booka Shade has also found success with remixes. They have remixed several songs by many respectable artists, which include: Moby, The Knife, Hot Chip, and Depeche Mode. Booka Shade is also a sensation with their live performances and has played many notable festivals such as the Brooklyn Electronic Festival and the Stereosonic Festival in Sydney, Australia.

Barbaglia’s interest in music began at an early age, when he began DJing at the tender age of 11. He first began Crookers as a collaborative project with fellow Milano music producer Andrea “Bot” Frangelo back in 2003. Both Barbaglia and Frangelo bonded over their shared musical tastes, and dream to create dance music that hadn’t been produced in Milan before.

Their first release, entitled “End 2 End” was released in 2006 on the P-House label. Over the next couple of years, the duo recorded various tracks that were put out by different Italian labels, before releasing their a trio of EPs in 2008, titled, Knobbers, Mad Kidz and E.P.istola respectively. That same year, Crookers tasted their first international success, with their smash hit collaboration with G.O.O.D Music rapper Kid Cudi, “Day’N’Nite”. The catchy club banger was a commercial success around the world, charting at Number 2 in the UK and was also featured on the videogame, “Midnight Club: Los Angeles.” They also lent their DJ skills to play in game radio hosts on GTA V.

2010 saw the Crookers take the next step in their career when they recorded and released their debut studio album, “Tons of Friends”. The album was well received by critics and noted for its numerous high profile features, from the likes of will.i.am and Soulwax, to Roisin Murphy and Miike Snow. A remix version of the album was recorded later on the same year.

Their sophomore album came out in 2011, titled “Dr Gonzo”, which was a more electronic leaning release. The following year, Fratangelo announced he was leaving the group, while Barbaglia would continue to use the Crookers name for his solo work, the latest Crookers album is titled “Sixteen Chapel”.