Tyro is out on Inverted Spectrum Records:
"Özüm İtez is known for his guitar work as a part of the internationalist psych-rock quartet Hayvanlar Alemi. However, there is a lesser known side to his musical existence, known only to a chosen few who have been witnessing for years how he gets home from school or work and improvises on his guitar for half an hour, the music usually left unrecorded to vanish forever into outerspace. But now, a bigger audience will have the chance to peek into the solo guitar world of Özüm İtez. "Tyro" is culled from two after-work studio sessions and documents Özüm's creative and passionate electric guitar improvisations, his instantly conjured melodies offering at times hypnotic and at times counter-hypnotic moods, while the references to modalities of diverse geographies hint at the Hayvanlar Alemi catalogue. It's an important record which for the first time documents one of the most idiosyncratic guitar players from Ankara in his most freely-creating mode. I'm not saying this because he's my friend for 18 years or because he's my bandmate or because we might earn a little money from this album, I'm saying it totally sincerely."
- Işık Sarıhan
"Kimi zaman minimalizmiyle, kimi zaman gezindiği makamlarla, kimi zaman endüstriyel tınılarla içine daldığımız dünyanın karanlık olduğunu söyleyebiliriz. Döngüler, üst üste gelen sesler, doğaçlamanın gelişimiyle bulunan yeni yollar, katmanlar, sololar, kısa ve öz ya da uzun uzun anlatımlar. Özellikle gitaristlerin kafasını açabilecek çok önerme var albümde. 10 dakikaya varan “Sharrock” ve albümn en sıcak anlarını yaşatan “Dalga Doyuran” favorilerimiz oldu."
- Tayfun Polat, Karga Mecmua (Temmuz 2015)
"Özüm İtez is known for his guitar work as a part of the internationalist psych-rock quartet Hayvanlar Alemi. However, there is a lesser known side to his musical existence, known only to a chosen few who have been witnessing for years how he gets home from school or work and improvises on his guitar for half an hour, the music usually left unrecorded to vanish forever into outerspace. But now, a bigger audience will have the chance to peek into the solo guitar world of Özüm İtez. "Tyro" is culled from two after-work studio sessions and documents Özüm's creative and passionate electric guitar improvisations, his instantly conjured melodies offering at times hypnotic and at times counter-hypnotic moods, while the references to modalities of diverse geographies hint at the Hayvanlar Alemi catalogue. It's an important record which for the first time documents one of the most idiosyncratic guitar players from Ankara in his most freely-creating mode. I'm not saying this because he's my friend for 18 years or because he's my bandmate or because we might earn a little money from this album, I'm saying it totally sincerely."
- Işık Sarıhan
"Kimi zaman minimalizmiyle, kimi zaman gezindiği makamlarla, kimi zaman endüstriyel tınılarla içine daldığımız dünyanın karanlık olduğunu söyleyebiliriz. Döngüler, üst üste gelen sesler, doğaçlamanın gelişimiyle bulunan yeni yollar, katmanlar, sololar, kısa ve öz ya da uzun uzun anlatımlar. Özellikle gitaristlerin kafasını açabilecek çok önerme var albümde. 10 dakikaya varan “Sharrock” ve albümn en sıcak anlarını yaşatan “Dalga Doyuran” favorilerimiz oldu."
- Tayfun Polat, Karga Mecmua (Temmuz 2015)