MANUEL IMAN has long been recognized as one of Spain's most innovative musicians, both as a guitarist and as a composer. Born in the flamenco capital of the world - Seville, Andalucia, Spain - his early life was understandably filled with music. I was born listening to the radio, he says. My mother used to sing at home and so did my borthers. I was the youngest, and was surrounded by music from my earliest memories.

At the age of 15, Manuel bought his first guitar, of which he says "It was a very exciting and wonderful experience to learn the first chords and get sounds from the instrument. I was so captivated that I would spend hours and hours practicing, never noticing the time passing by. I love the guitar - acoustic, Spanish and electric - because of all its possibilites of expression. For the same reason, I enjoy playing keyboards; I also can play bass and percussion, and sing. Delineating his influences, Manuel admires The Beatles, for the creativity; Jimi Hendrix, for his passion; Paco de Lucia, for his fire and amazing technique; Frank Zappa, for his genius; Joe Zawinul, for the fine mixture of cultures; and Beethoven and Stravinsky, for creating new dimensions.

A pressing desire for unmatched clarity of sound and technological innovation in the studio brought Manuel into contact with some of the top sound engineers in the world. He notes, roger Nichols recorded NIGHT FLIGHT for Steely Dan founding member Donald Fagen, and Paul Dieter recorded Jackson Browne's I'M ALIVE; both of these recordings are used as reference models in top flight studios all over the world. Working with Roger and Paul on FLOWERS IN THE DESERT was great because we could experiment with new techniques and equipment. For example I developed a new use of tremolo effect on the electric guitar. Roger and I also used a new experimental prototype dimension reverb processor from TC Electronics, the first time anyone has done so.

On FLOWERS IN THE DESERT, Manuel plays Spanish and electric guitar, keyboards and percussion. Guesting on this EverSound debut recording is bassist Eduardo M. Del Signore, who has played with Jon Anderson of YES AND DIONNE WARWICK; and drummer Steve Di Stanislao, who plays with David Crosby's band, CPR.

Manuel says, "All of the songs on FLOWERS IN THE DESERT have been composed from a feeling that comes from within; I simply tried to manifest that feeling of love and harmoney that resides in every human being as exciting and inspiring music. Enjoy!"