Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Ernesto Montiel is a visual artist, experimental musician/improviser, concert organizer, broadcaster and dj. Formally educated in architecture. Ernesto moved to Dallas in 2015.

Ernesto’s initial improvisation project was an open collective called El Jaibo (1995) which spawned several other projects, including: Los Jardineros del Chance, Metra, Gabinete Sonoro Goma Espuma. Once in Dallas, he met Miguel Espinel, and since 2016 they have performed as Monte Espina. With releases in labels as Marginal Frequency, Elevator Bath and Round Bale Recordings. A Sarah Ruth Alexander + Monte Espina collaboration is due to be released in 2022 on Full Spectrum Records. Besides Sarah Ruth, the duo has collaborated with a long list of artists, among them: Liz Tonne, Louise Fristensky, Chris Cogburn, Alan F. Jones, Jason Kahn, Tom Carter, Rebecca Novak, Andrew Jordan Miller, Karl Roehling, Kevin Butler, Aaron Gonzalez, Steve Jansen, Justin Lemons, Chase Gardner, Adriana Valls, Ray Henninger, Derek Rogers, Elaine Di Falco. Outside of Monte Espina, Ernesto has also performed with a long list of artists, notably, recently with Le Quan Ninh in trio and ensemble settings, and Eliane Radigue’s Vis-A-Vis in tandem with Charles Curtis.

As a visual artist Montiel has been developing for some years a chance-driven body of work, Stochastic Ethics. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Venezuela, also in Colombia, Aruba, and Germany.

As a concert organizer, Montiel first started running the Further Sounds/Further Jazz experimental music series at The Wild Detectives in Dallas, and has booked concerts at Texas Theater, Full City Rooster, and Top Ten Records. Currently, also with Sarah Ruth, Ernesto runs Molten Plains at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios in Denton, a monthly series which will become a two-day Festival edition in December 2022.

Since the beginning of KUZU LP FM 92.9, a Denton community radio, he’s been a monthly guest on Sarah Ruth’s show Tiger D, and started his own show, Sonido Tumbarrancho, in August 2018. Since last year, along with Sarah Ruth, started another show: In Praise of Covers.