Clorofila

Jorge Verdín (April 5, 1965 – April 16, 2024), known professionally as Clorofila, was one of the pioneers of the Nortec (norteño-techno) musical style that originated in Tijuana, Mexico. Clorofila first came to prominence as a member of Tijuana-based music project Nortec Collective, a group formed by various individual producers and performers. He participated on both Nortec Collective albums (Tijuana Sessions Vol 1 and Tijuana Sessions Vol 3) under his Nortec identity Clorofila. After the break-up of the collective, Verdín recorded and released two solo albums as Clorofila (Corridos Urbanos and Ahorita Vengo) and two as Tremolo Audio (Visitas and Panorama), and co-wrote and co-produced an album of atmospheric post-rock with José Luis Martín under the name Observador. Verdín also created music for theatre and sound design under his name.

Background Jorge Verdín was born in Los Angeles, but grew up in Tijuana in the 1970s and 1980s at a time when the city was still considered mainly a tourist town. A lifelong obsession with music, which went from British rock bands Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd to British post-punk and synth-pop bands such as New Order, Cocteau Twins and Depeche Mode, exposed him to the record-cover design from that period, which in turn, led him to study graphic design. He studied at the design program at San Diego City College and later earned a bachelor's degree in graphic design from the Art Center College of Design.

Nortec as a musical style is a mix of electronic dance music (synthesizers, sequencers, sampling, drum-machine beats, computer manipulation, etc.), with popular northern Mexican sounds, especially norteño (accordion, tarola, bajo sexto) and banda (tuba, trumpet, clarinet, tarola). It arose as a consequence of Collective members' experience of living on the border, at the margins of Mexican culture and in an area heavily influenced by the United States.

In 2018 he collaborated with Teatro Línea de Sombra on Durango 66, which was presented at the Los Angeles REDCAT Theatre, as part of the Pacific Standard Time LA/LA art initiative.

He collaborated and produced remixes for Beck, Mochipet, Tremor, Matias Aguayo, Rigo Tovar and Radiokijada, both with Nortec Collective and solo. with Torres, including record cover proposals, visual identity tests, concert visuals and flyers, were published in a book called El Paso del Nortec by Editorial Trilce. The following year, he worked on How To Read El Pato Pascual, a book and exhibit based on the reach and influence of Disney, also examined in a series of commissioned essays drawing on cultural studies, historical research and postcolonial theory for the MAK Schindler House in West Hollywood, also a part of Pacific Standard Time LA/LA. The book was published by Black Dog Publishing.

Discography

Clorofila (with Nortec Collective) Cha3 - El Nuevo Sueño de la Gallina (1998) Nortec Sampler (1999) Nortec Experimental (2000) Frontier-Life (soundtrack) (2000) Tijuana Sessions Vol. 1 (2001) Tijuana Sessions Vol. 3 (2005)

Clorofila (solo) Corridos Urbanos (2010) Ahorita Vengo (2014)

As Tremolo Audio Colores Vol 1 (compilation) (2005) Random V1 (compilation) (2006) Visitas (2008) Panorama (2019) States (2022)

As Observador Observador (2020)