Speed can be a trap for the younger player, many of whom misperceive it as the most telling means of demonstrating chops. All too often, however, velocity is all one gets in these displays. Not so with Orhan Demir, a young Toronto - based guitarist whose speed of execution is a little short of prodigious and must be heard to believed. He can play with such blistering rapidity and at such mind -numbing length that this aspect of his abilities may blind one to the more solid virtues his music possesses. A native of Turkey who took up  guitar upon emigrating to Canada at age 14. Demir's music fuses Middle - Eastern, jazz and rock disciplines in proportions that vary from composition to composition producing an approach of great individuality and seizing power. While there are fugitive allusions in his playing to the work of, among others, John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell. Demir is very much his own man, bearing comparison with literally no other player, guitarist or otherwise. The first of six originals, "As time goes by" derives its expressive power from the unrelenting velocity and accumulating density of his playing it possesses a striking coherence of design and execution of which few pieces of this sort rarely, if ever, attain - sort of a guitaristic version of Coltrane's sheets of sound. Again like Coltrane, other of Demir's compositions hew to a more spiritual line - "Allah Supreme", "In Favour", and "Improvisation", for examples, and are treated in a manner befitting their composer's intent. The empathetic, interactive playing of bassist Neil Swainson and especially drummer Barry Elmes contribute tellingly to the music, helping it bristle with vitality and fervor. If for no other reason than the phenomenal "As Time Goes  By" you should definitely seek this album out..
by Pete Welding

Guitar World

Canadian Orhan Demir is an incredible, even legendary guitarist who must be heard to be believed. On these two Canadian releases (The Way I see you and North West), his uncanny facility, mindboggling speed and clean execution bring to mind such greats as Django Reinheart, Tal Farlow, Pat Martino and John McLaughlin. Add to that a passionate intensity and Coltrane - like conviction, and you have one amazing plectorist. Both these albums feature Orhan's originals and highlight his stunning technique in a number of settings, each one bristling with vitality and fertile ideas. Acoustic bassist Neil Swainson's big, round tone anchors this trio as Barry Elmes traverses his kit like a Canadian Elvin Jones, colouring each tune with a melodic approach that implies the beat rather than stating it. On "The Way I See You" Demir and company charge out of the gate with a vengeance. The opener, "As Time Goes On", is an incredible, up-tempo burner - six and a half minutes of mind - boggling chops over a relentlessly swinging rhythm section. On the title cut, a more arranged affair with occasional bass/guitar unison lines. Demir floats over a walking, mid-tempo loose bop groove, interjecting staccato bursts of single notes that strike like machine - gun fire. And on "In Favour", a melancholy meditation. Elmes' gentle brushwork paints a dreamy landscape as Demir chords the melody with lush textures from his warm sounding Gibson hollow-body. On the flip side, the trio explores some lofty territory on "Allah Supreme," a super up tempo vehicle recalling the energy and heightened playing of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Demir's quicksilver lines fly by in a blur, in the vein of Coltrane's fabled "sheets of sound." And on the unaccompanied "Improvisation," the guitarist displays incredible right-hand picking technique, frantically skipping strings while simultaneously shaping the piece with orchestral voicings. "North West" is no less impressive, with its hyper-speed, Tal Farlow-type fretboard flash on "Joy," Mid-Eastern scales on the sensitive ballad, "Swainsong," and more Flight- Of -The-Bumble-Bee single note lines on the Latin groove of "Satellite Service." Demir's sheer command of the instrument is astonishing, and spurred by the interplay of his cohorts, he reaches some breathtaking heights.
by Bill Milkowski