It’s a new story with a new lineup. The Trees and the Wild are making their way to a wider audience in Europe.

From the city of Bekasi to Helsinki, Hamburg and beyond, the now five-piece band is seizing opportunities to bring their music to the world.

With the release of their brilliant 2009 debut album, Rasuk (Enter), The Trees and the Wild were well received by local music buffs and built up a good reputation as they toured throughout Indonesia showcasing their music. Their lively stage performances, driven by obvious amounts of passion for what they’re doing in music, are supported by their unique sound.

With such a positive atmosphere around them, they regularly began playing shows in Singapore and Malaysia. This early success brought them to the attention of booking agency Figure8, who has added a new chapter to their tale of success: A European tour.

Following the departure of some of its early members, the band now consists of charismatic front man, Remedy Waloni (also on guitar), Andra Kurniawan (electric guitar), Tyo Prasetya (bass), Charita Utamy (background vocals) and Hertri Nur Pamungkas (drums).

With the new lineup also comes a change in the direction of the band and their approach to the musical experience. They are now presenting their music in a different light, following the departure of influential guitarist Iga Massardi some time ago.

Due to the logistics involved and a lack of support from organizers, cost has always been the biggest enemy of any small, independent band wanting to put together a European tour. For most artists, touring other continents is considered as a long-term investment in bringing their music to new audiences.

Indie band White Shoes and the Couples Company has adapted this strategy and made good on their efforts in promoting their music to the world stage. They have been awarded a number of international contracts to release their albums in foreign markets.

So, when the tour was confirmed for late September, The Trees and the Wild packed their hopes, desires and musical gear and turned to the Internet for help with fundraising through the phenomenon of “crowd funding”.

Crowd funding is a new method to bring dreams to life by collecting small donations from the Internet. A number of vendors now facilitate this type of Internet fundraising by creating and highlighting pages for a variety of causes, from emergency relief, microcredit, or in this case, an opportunity of a lifetime.

“We prepared everything since last July, the focus was crowd funding,” said front man Remedy Waloni from Tallinn, Estonia, where they played the last few legs of the tour.

The Trees and the Wild offered Internet donors exclusive access to their upcoming releases, including a limited-edition Tour EP that they brought to shows in the tour, and gave their supporters the privilege to hear the band’s upcoming album two months before its official release.

They even offered to play a private gig. Donations ranged from between US$5 and $5,000, with the largest donation earning the title “The Biggest Fan of The Trees and the Wild”.

Remedy said it was a successful campaign. “We managed to get 30 percent of our total expenses through crowd funding. Well, it covered our air tickets.”

The success of their fundraising efforts proved that small amounts money can help fund a big dream, based on the collective support of their friends and fans who wanted to see the band reach new levels with their music.

With funds in hand, The Trees and the Wild headed to tour dates in the cities of Tallinn and Tartu in Estonia, as well as in Tampere, Finland, before playing at their largest gigs, the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg and the Helsinki International Film Festival.

“So far, it’s been a very fun tour,” Remedy said. “And being a touring band is very exhausting.”

After they return from their European tour, The Trees and the Wild will play at the Jakarta International Blues Festival at Tennis Indoor Senayan on Oct. 13 before continuing on to Malaysia to share the stage with Sigur Ros at the Urbanscapes Festival on Nov. 25.

“Up next, our new album will be the target,” told Remedy.

Fans at home in Indonesia, and now abroad, are eagerly awaiting the release of the new album as a follow-up to the release of Rasuk in 2009.

— Photos courtesy of The Trees and the Wild