I have done it.
I have successfully found a side of TikTok so full of smooth jazz and tranquility that spending my time on the app now feels, dare I say, pastoral. In a French way.
Swipe through my FYP and you’ll find small clips from animated(opens in a new tab) films like(opens in a new tab) The Triplets of Belleville, A Cat in Paris, Fantasia 2000, and Allegro Non Troppo — critically acclaimed cult cinema that fuses the artistry of hand-drawn animation with minimal dialogue. In these films, most of the narrative is conveyed through pantomime and music, typically classical or jazz, that doesn’t feature many lyrics. These works are interesting, strangely calming, and hella vibey.
The TikTok videos that use these clips have a lot in common, too: They’re accompanied by smooth jazz and posted by the musician berloiz(opens in a new tab) (not to be confused with the French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz) who describes their music in their TikTok bio as “if Matisse made house music.”(opens in a new tab) Overlaid text reads: “bro who still listens to jazz?” or “babe you’re not a French Grandmother visiting NYC.” There’s also “pov: it’s 1920s NY and all you want to do is get home and play some jazz” and “bro you’re not a cat burglar in 90s Paris.”
It is reminiscent of our obsession with Lofi girl, the YouTube livestream of an animated girl studying, sometimes with her cat, while lofi music — a form of music that’s downtempo, typically combining elements of hip-hop and jazz, formulated to create a relaxing atmosphere — plays.
“[Lofi hip-hop] is calming and relaxing to listen to. It can help you de-stress and clear your mind, to forget your problems or deal with them in a better way that makes you feel more peaceful,” music producer eevee(opens in a new tab) told HypeBeast of our interest in the genre.
So it’s no surprise that each of these videos, which aren’t explicitly lofi but do evoke a similarly calming and relaxing experience, have hit such a sweet spot on TikTok. They offer a form of reprieve uncommon on the internet today, because the animation and storytelling is one that feels less self-obsessed than most escapism — you’re not escaping into an animated 1920s of Paris, New York City, Montreal, or Quebec City à la a Super Mario Bros painting, but you’re escaping alongside it.
These videos don’t contain much of what typically makes a TikTok video good: comedy, useful tips, speed, storytelling. Instead, they’re just nice, something simple and beautiful to look at. In today’s hyper-active world, that’s all I want.
