monty kiddo
MONTY KIDDO
Groove, Identity and the Next Chapter of Chicago House
Chicago is not simply another city on the global club map; it is the birthplace of house music, a place where the rhythm of the dancefloor carries more than four decades of cultural memory. For artists emerging from the city today, that legacy is not abstract history but a living presence that shapes how music is felt, played and understood. Chicago’s sonic DNA echoes through basements, warehouses and clubs, carried forward by each new generation of DJs and producers who reinterpret the groove in their own language. For Monty Kiddo, that inheritan- ce has never been distant or theoretical; it has been a constant reference point guiding the emotional core of his music. “Incredibly aware. I’ve always personally been drawn to that style of house music and I think the rawness and emotion that the OG’s were able to capture 40+ years ago can be heard in my work today.”
The lineage of Chicago house is not only a story of sound but of devotion. The early pioneers captured something raw and human within the repetitive architecture of drum machines and synthesizers, building a musical language that still resonates across dancefloors worldwide. For Monty Kiddo, encountering that lineage has been both humbling and energizing, especially through personal encounters with some of the artists who helped build it. Their passion continues to illuminate the path for younger producers navigating the modern electronic landscape. “It’s pretty full circle that some of my biggest modern influences name many of the original Chicago house producers as their own inspirations… I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a few of them and their love and passion for the music is invigorating.”
Yet Monty Kiddo’s musical upbringing began in a very different world. Inside his family home, the soundtrack was not house music but the storytelling traditions of American country, where artists like Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw dominated the speakers. While the sonic palette may seem worlds apart from the pulse of Chicago’s clubs, the emotional archi- tecture shares surprising parallels. Both genres rely on atmosphere, simplicity and the ability to transport the listener somewhere beyond the immediate moment.
“Lyrics might be ‘cold beer on a Friday night’ or something similar but man does that take you somewhere.”
That early exposure to narrative songwriting quietly shaped his un- derstanding of musical emotion. Even though country music is no lon- ger a central influence in his liste- ning habits, its lessons about mood and storytelling linger in his creative instincts. The idea that a song can evoke an entire landscape with minimal elements remains deeply embedded in his production philoso- phy. For Monty Kiddo, emotional clarity often emerges from restraint rather than complexity. “Things I think I’ve subconsciously taken away is trying to nail the emotion while keeping things simple.”
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AUTOR SERGIO NIÑO PHOTORAPHY ARTIST COURTESY
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