Emigrate is a European Alternative metal band based in New York City, New York, led by Richard Z. Kruspe, the lead guitarist of the German band Rammstein.
Kruspe started the band in 2005, when Rammstein decided to take a year off from touring and recording. In many interviews, Kruspe says the idea for Emigrate came to him around Rammstein’s Mutter era.
On September 5, 2006, members of the Rammstein.de newsletter were sent an invitation to the Emigrate newsletter and given the chance to download the song “Wake Up”, a sneak peek of the upcoming album. Three song samples were also posted on Emigrate’s website: “My World”, “Babe”, and “Temptation”. Fans voted “Babe” as being their favorite, and newsletter recipients were allowed to download “Babe” in its entirety starting November 29, 2006.[1] On May 21, 2007 the Emigrate Official Website opened and “My World” was made available for download, in its entirety, to newsletter subscribers.
The video for “My World” has been released and can be viewed on the official website. The video was also included on the limited edition release of the album Emigrate. In addition to the video, My World is featured on the soundtrack to the third Resident Evil movie, Resident Evil: Extinction. The soundtracks to the previous two movies contained “Halleluja” and “Mein Teil” from Rammstein, respectively. On July 27, 2007 Richard made an appearance on Bruce Dickinson rock show on BBC.[2] A video for “New York City” has been released and can be watched on Emigrate.eu. Richard then left the Emigrate project aside due to Rammstein reuniting in the fall of 2007 to work on their new album Liebe ist für alle da which was released in October 2009, and also to take part in the subsequent Rammstein tour.
Joe Letz, who had appeared in the video for “My World”, updated the Emigrate Facebook page on June 24, 2011, stating that Richard has been working on a new record.
On December 5, 2012, an announcement posted on the Emigrate Facebook page announced that demos were being recorded and reviewed, and studio time was being set up in January 2013 to begin official recording of an untitled second album.
In January 2013, Kruspe stated via the Emigrate Facebook page that drums were beginning to be mixed for the new record.
Members:
Current members
- Richard Z. Kruspe – vocals, lead guitar (2007-present)
- Olsen Involtini – rhythm guitar (2007-present)
- Arnaud Giroux – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007-present)
- Joe Letz – drums (2008-present)
- Mikko Sirén – drums (2013-present)
Former members
- Henka Johansson – drums (2007-2008)