Tollan Kim produces music that anyone can resonate with, and TikTok gave him the platform to share his gift with the world. You may have stumbled across his tranquil lo-fi beats while scrolling through TikTok, Youtube, Soundcloud, or Spotify. Chances are you’ve heard Tollan’s beat famously known as “Aesthetic.”
Who Is Tollan Kim?
But what many people don’t know is the talented person behind these lo-fi sounds. Tollan Kim has a purpose in mind while creating his soothing aesthetic music.
In his biography on Spotify, Tollan Kim states: “My goal is to make my music something necessary in people’s lives, Music that helps you relax after a stressful day, In short, All I want is for my music to make my listeners happier and full of good energy for the next day.”
On his Youtube channel Kim shares his chill lo-fi hip-hop and jazz beats to his nearly 4k subscribers. It’s perfect for listeners to add to their lo-fi playlists to play when sleeping, studying, cleaning, and more. Tollan’s music gives a cleansing affect to the listener; no vocals or lyrics, solely healing instruments. But, as far as the producers’ public image, he maintains an obscure public persona. His social accounts mainly focus on promoting his beats and positive message to fans.
The TikTok Sound Heard Around The World
And listeners find comfort in his tranquil sounds- 83, 725 users on Spotify per month to be exact. On Spotify and Soundcloud combined, his track titled “Aesthetic” with LA producer kudasaibeats, has over 2M streams. What’s more, “Aesthetic” is used in a whopping 10.2M posts on TikTok!
From cooking videos, self care, vlogs, makeup tutorials and much more, the sound took over the app since “Aesthetic” released in March 2022. Not to mention, A-list celebrities Charli D’Amelio, Kim Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner used the sound in their TikTok videos.
Trigger Warning: diet culture, eating disorders
In fact, podcast network dearmedia used “Aesthetic” in their recent controversial TikTok video with Gwenyth Paltrow. The clip of Paltrow discussing her wellness routine has garnered over 3.3M views on the app. The actress describes her restrictive eating habits consisting of detoxing and fasting. The video was met with backlash because she reinforces the extreme practices of diet culture, which often leads to eating disorders in our society.
In that case, Tollan Kim’s audio did not give the calming effect it is intended for. But nonetheless, his music continues to reach people daily through viral videos. And Tollan Kim’s music reflects his simple yet important message to the world. He says in his Instagram bio, “Be kind and spread good vibes.” And I think we can all agree on that!
my fav song!