Xabier Montoia, born on September 24, 1955, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, is a Basque musician, poet, and writer. He began his musical career in the early 1980s by creating the group Hertzainak. After leaving Hertzainak, he co-founded M-ak with Kaki Arkarazo, releasing five albums between 1983 and 1990. M-ak dissolved in 1991, and Montoia did not release music again until 1995, when he debuted as a solo artist with Beti oporretan. His subsequent solo albums include Hemen (1997), Lagunak, adiskideak... Eta beste hainbat etsai (1999), Ni ez naiz Xabier Montoia (2002), and Montoiaren mundu miresgarria (2011). In 1998, the Basque Government awarded him the Zabalkunde prize for his literary work Gasteizko hondartzak, and in 2007, he received the Euskadi Literature Prize for Euskal Hiria sutan.
