I Know You Well Miss Clara

Indonesian progressive jazz-rockers I Know You Well Miss Clara are led by guitarist Reza Ryan, who composes most of their material and draws from a variety of influences including King Crimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and groups of the '60s-'70s British Canterbury scene (Soft Machine, Matching Mole, Hatfield and the North, National Health) in charting the quartet's creative direction. Ryan, who began learning guitar in 1991 at the age of ten, formed the group in 2009, recruiting keyboardist Ady Wijaya, bassist Enriko Gultom, and drummer Alfiah Akbar, all three of whom were studying music at the Institut Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta. As Ryan explained to Sid Smith, liner note author for Chapter One, the group's debut album released by MoonJune Records, the name I Know You Well Miss Clara was originally the title of one of the guitarist's compositions — but Wijaya and Gultom suggested it would make a fine moniker for the band instead, and the idea stuck. The quartet understandably captured the interest of MoonJune head Leonardo Pavkovic; under his leadership, the label has become noted not only for its Canterbury and guitar virtuoso (e.g., Allan Holdsworth) aesthetic but also for an artist roster featuring Indonesian jazz-rock guitarists such as Tohpati Ario Hutomo (simakDialog, Tohpati Ethnomission) and Dewa Budjana. Recorded in 18 hours at two studios in Yogyakarta in 2012, Chapter One was issued by MoonJune in September of the following year.