Galileo Galilei (ガリレオ・ガリレイ) is a Japanese indie rock band from Wakkanai, Hokkaido who debuted in 2008 after winning the teenage audition festival “Senkou Riot”. In 2009, The band signed with SME Records and released their debut song “Hamanasu no Hana” the next year which marked over 1 million downloads. Their debut studio album, Parade was released in 2011 which reached the top 5 on the Oricon weekly chart, followed by their second studio album Portal in 2012. Their music has been featured as the theme song for various anime, such as "Aoi Shiori" (青い栞, Blue Bookmark) for Anohana, "Asu e" (明日へ, "To Tomorrow") for Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, Natsuzora (夏空) for Big Windup! Season 2 and "Climber" (クライマー) for Haikyu!! season 2.
Top Tracks
Known For
Releases in the Catalogue
- Galileo Galilei - Last Live Sharin no Jiku at Nippon Budokan -
SEXL-79(2017) - Galileo Galilei - Tsunagari Daisuki Box -
SECL-2860(2023)
Members
Current
- Fumito Iwai - Guitar, Keyboard
- Kazuki Ozaki - Drum, Drums, Keyboard, Music By, Percussion, Photographs By, Piano & Programming
- Yuuki Ozaki - Arranged By, Bass, Guitar, Illustrated By, Jacket Designed By, Keyboard, Keyboard & Programming, Lyrics By, Mixed By, Music By, Percussion, Photographs By, Producer, Song Writer, Trumpet, Vocal
- Masaki Okazaki
Former
- Hitoshi Sakou - Bass, Keyboard
History
Translated from the ja.wikipedia article Galileo Galilei (CC BY-SA 4.0), revision 110585281.
Overview
Galileo Galilei was formed in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, in 2007, centered on Yuuki Ozaki (vocals, guitar) and Kazuki Ozaki (drums). In 2008, the band won the inaugural Grand Prix at the rock festival Senkou Riot, organized by the radio program SCHOOL OF LOCK! and others, and made its CD debut the following year with the mini-album Ame Nochi Galileo. In February 2010, it made its major-label debut with the mini-album Hamanasu no Hana. The band subsequently scored hits with songs including “Aoi Shiori” and “Circle Game”.
The band temporarily ceased activities following a concert at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in October 2016.
After Galileo Galilei ceased activities, Yuuki Ozaki launched the solo project warbear in 2017. The following year, he formed the new band Bird Bear Hare and Fish, now BBHF, with the members of Galileo Galilei at the time of its cessation and DAIKI, who had also served as a support member for Galileo Galilei.
In October 2022, the band announced its resumption under a new line-up of Yuuki Ozaki, Kazuki Ozaki, bassist Masaki Okazaki, and early member Fumito Iwai. On May 31, 2023, it released its first full-length album under the new line-up, Bee and The Whales, through its independent label Ouchi Daisuki Club Records. The album was released and distributed by Virgin Music Label and Artist Services.
On March 15, 2025, the band held the solo concert “Ao ni Modoru” at Tokyo Garden Theater. For Galileo Galilei, Tokyo Garden Theater was the largest-capacity venue for a solo concert since its resumption, and the second-largest venue after its final concert before ceasing activities at Nippon Budokan in 2016.
In October 2025, it was announced that DAIKI of BBHF, who had long served as Galileo Galilei’s support guitarist, would officially join the band as a member. BBHF will continue its activities.
Current Members
Yuuki Ozaki (尾崎雄貴, Yuuki Ozaki; born May 27, 1991) Vocals / guitar / synthesizer / programming Born in Wakkanai, Hokkaido; blood type O. Height: 163 cm. He writes the lyrics for all songs. Drummer Kazuki Ozaki is his younger brother. He did not attend school during his student years. He has stated that he was nevertheless allowed to graduate from high school while taking supplementary lessons. He has also stated that he does not particularly like schools as places. He is a dog lover and, as of 2010, owned a Labrador Retriever named Kotaro. He began the solo project warbear in 2017. Since 2018, he has also been active as vocalist and guitarist in BBHF. He also provides songs for other artists, including Leo Ieiri, Kanae, and Gakuto Kajiwara.
Fumito Iwai (岩井郁人, Fumito Iwai; born December 24, 1990) Guitar / bass / chorus / synthesizer / programming Born in Eniwa, Hokkaido; blood type O. Height: 184 cm. He joined on August 31, 2009, left on September 13, 2012, and rejoined on October 11, 2022. Formerly of Guild. He previously performed under the name Iwai Fumito and has also been active as a solo artist under his real name since 2022. He is active as vocalist and guitarist in FOLKS. He had participated in BBHF and warbear as a support member, performing guitar and keyboards. He is the representative director of FOLKS Co., Ltd., a video production and sound recording production company. He also provides songs for other artists, including krage and Keisuke Murakami.
Kazuki Ozaki (尾崎和樹, Kazuki Ozaki; born May 11, 1993) Drums / guitar / percussion / rhythm machine / synthesizer / programming Born in Wakkanai, Hokkaido; blood type A. Height: 161.5 cm. Vocalist Yuuki Ozaki is his older brother. He also occasionally serves as a support musician for Aya Hinata and for the solo activities of Yuuki Ozaki and Iwai. Since 2018, he has also been active as drummer in BBHF. He is also active as a songwriter and engineer, having provided “UMenity” and “Kusabi” for Nemo Suzumi, and “Kids” for Kanae, co-arranged with Yuuki Ozaki.
Masaki Okazaki (岡崎真輝, Masaki Okazaki; born September 6, 1994) Bass Born in Sapporo, Hokkaido; blood type AB. Height: 168 cm. He has publicly stated that he holds a second-dan certification in the Japan Kendama Association kendama proficiency examination. He joined on October 11, 2022. Formerly of DayDream, mamidori, and Anger Jully The Sun. He has participated as a support member in BBHF, performing bass, keyboards, and guitar, and in warbear, performing bass. He also occasionally serves as a support musician for Fubuki and for the solo activities of Yuuki Ozaki and Iwai. He also occasionally plays bass on songs provided by Yuuki Ozaki and Kazuki Ozaki.
DAIKI (だいき, daiki; born May 7, 1988) Guitar He joined on October 11, 2025. He is the vocalist and guitarist of the band CURTISS. He participated as a support guitarist on numerous tours and at Nippon Budokan concerts. He is active as guitarist in BBHF. He is also active as a support guitarist for Newspeak, Seira Kariya, Somewhere, and Yuuki Ozaki's solo activities. He is also active as a composer, providing songs for Aimer, Seira Kariya, and Faint★Star.
Support Members
Junya Okubo (大久保淳也) Responsible for saxophone, flute, keyboards, and other instruments. He plays saxophone in the oono yuuki band. Formerly a member of Mori wa Ikiteiru. He participated in the Bee and The Whales Tour 2023, JOIN ALIVE 2023, and other events. He also contributed wind instruments to some recordings, including “Retry”, “Valhalla”, and “Amadeus”.
Aya Hinata (日向文; hinat(a)ya; born March 20, 1994) Responsible for chorus vocals, acoustic guitar, and other roles. A singer-songwriter from Hokkaido. Formerly a member of macico. She provided chorus vocals on some songs from the album Bee and The Whales. She participated in the Bee and The Whales Tour 2023, JOIN ALIVE 2023, and other events. She also contributed chorus vocals to some recordings, including “Imaginary Friends (BLUE ver.)”.
Former Members
Souhei Funaya (船谷創平; born November 15, 1991) Guitar An original member, he left the band on August 31, 2009.
Kazumasa Noguchi (野口一雅; born July 21, 1990) Keyboards / piano / organ / bass / percussion / synthesizer He joined on December 13, 2011, and left on September 13, 2012. Formerly of Guild. He later became active as a bassist in FOLKS with Iwai.
Hitoshi Sakou (佐孝仁司; born June 19, 1991) Bass / guitar / synthesizer / programming An original member, he remained with the band until it ceased activities on October 11, 2016. He was also a member of BBHF, leaving on March 31, 2021. He is currently a staff member of the Gizmodo Japan video production department at Media Gene Inc.
Formation
During his third year of junior high school, Yuuki discovered an electric guitar in a closet while doing a major cleaning, after which he and his younger brother Kazuki would pretend to be an air guitar band. As he began practicing seriously, Yuuki started to think that he wanted to form a band and invited his childhood friend Sataka Hitoshi (佐孝仁司). Having long seen Yuuki enjoying himself, Sataka readily agreed to join and used his New Year's gift money to buy a beginner's guitar set for about 40,000 yen. At the time, they were unaware of the existence of bass guitars, and performed covers of artists such as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION and the pillows with two guitars.
After learning about bass guitars in a music magazine, Yuuki asked Sataka to buy one. Sataka, who felt that any instrument would be fine as long as he could participate in band activities, accepted the suggestion and made the purchase. Kazuki received a drum set formerly used by the son of one of his schoolteachers and secretly practiced drums while following an instructional book. One day, Yuuki discovered this and told him, “You can play? All right, I’ll make you a support member!” and brought Kazuki into the group. At the time, Kazuki did not fully understand the meaning of “support member,” and reportedly thought only that it meant he would be able to play in a band with them. Funaya Sohei (船谷創平) later joined, and the group began producing original songs. Galileo Galilei was formed in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, in 2007.
On August 10, 2008, the band won the Grand Prix at Senkou Riot 2008. The following year, it appeared as the opening act at Senkou Riot 2009. The following month, it also appeared as the opening act at the Zepp Sapporo performance of YOUNG FLAG 09, organized by SCHOOL OF LOCK!.
On August 31, Funaya Sohei announced on the official website that he was leaving the band “to fulfill another dream.” Following recruitment efforts, Iwai Fumito (岩井郁人), the vocalist of Guild, whom they had met during the third round of judging at the previous year’s Senkou Riot 2008, joined in November.
Major Debut
In 2010, “Hamanasu no Hana” (ハマナスの花), the title track of their major-label debut mini-album, received power play on music television channels and FM radio stations throughout Japan. It was also selected as a commercial song for au by KDDI’s LISMO, making Galileo Galilei the youngest band to be used for the campaign. From that year, the band also appeared at events including ROCK IN JAPAN FES and RUSH BALL.
In March, they held the “LISMO! LOVES HIGH SCHOOL Galileo Galilei Special Live” at the KDDI Designing Studio in Harajuku. Approximately 10,000 applications were received for 100 available places, and the audience on the day numbered approximately 500, including standing-room attendees.
In June, they released their first single, “Natsuzora” (夏空). Their second single, “Yotsuba Sagashi no Tabibito” (四ツ葉さがしの旅人), was released in September of the same year.
In November, the Chaku-uta (R) version of “Boku kara Kimi e” (僕から君へ), which was distributed digitally, entered the Recochoku Rock Uta daily chart dated November 24 at number one. The third single, which included the song, was released on January 19 of the following year.
On February 16, 2011, they released their first full-length album, “Parade” (パレード), and also held a one-man tour.
On June 15, they released their fourth single, “Aoi Shiori” (青い栞). Their fifth single, “Sayonara Frontier” (さよならフロンティア), was released on September 7, and their sixth single, “Asu e” (明日へ), was released on December 7. In December, the release of their second album, “PORTAL”, was announced, along with the official addition of Kazumasa Noguchi, who had been active as a support member.
On January 25, 2012, they released their second full-length album, “PORTAL”, and held a one-man tour. In February, a band score for “PORTAL” and their first artist book were released.
On September 13, the departure of Fumito Iwai and Kazumasa Noguchi was announced on the official website.
On October 31, they released the mini-album “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. At the same time, they live-streamed their first Ustream program, “Because It’s ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’, ‘Ouchi Daisuki Club’”, from Wanwan Studio (わんわんスタジオ).
On February 10, 2013, the recruitment of support members was announced on the official website. On February 22, the second Ustream program, the “Galileo Galilei Special Web Program”, was live-streamed from Wanwan Studio.
On August 21, they released their seventh single, “Circle Game” (サークルゲーム). Their third full-length album, “ALARMS”, was released in October, and they also held a one-man tour.
In February 2014, they held their first one-man hall concert at Shibuya Kokaido (渋谷公会堂). To commemorate the event, they released “Hellogoodbye”, a remake of “Hello Goodbye” (ハローグッバイ), a song from their independent era, as a digital release.
On October 1, they released the mini-album “See More Glass” and held the nationwide “Galileo Galilei ‘landing balloon tour’ 2014”.
On March 11, 2015, they released their eighth single, “Koi no Jumyou” (恋の寿命). On June 10, they released their ninth single, “Arashi no Ato de” (嵐のあとで).
On October 17, they held the Sapporo performance, the first date of the nationwide “Galileo Galilei ‘broken tower tour’ 2015”. On December 9, they released their tenth single, “Climber” (クライマー).
End of Activities
In January 2016, the band announced that it would end its activities with the nationwide solo live tour “Galileo Galilei ‘Sea and The Darkness’ Tour 2016,” to be held from March to April. The album Sea and The Darkness, released on January 27, would be the band’s final work.
On January 27, 2016, it released its fourth full-length album, Sea and The Darkness, and also held the nationwide tour “Galileo Galilei ‘Sea and The Darkness’ Last Tour 2016.”
On June 15, it released its first best-of album, Sharin no Jiku (車輪の軸).
On October 11, it held its first and last Nippon Budokan final concert, “Galileo Galilei Last Live: Sharin no Jiku at Nippon Budokan.” Part of the concert was exclusively broadcast live by the internet television station AbemaTV. The vinyl record Sea and The Darkness was also released exclusively at the venue and through the Sony Music Shop mail-order store.
On January 25, 2017, the band released its first and last live DVD, Galileo Galilei lastlive: Sharin no Jiku at Nippon Budokan.
In 2018, Bird Bear Hare and Fish, the band’s de facto successor, began activities.
Resumption of Activities
On October 11, 2022, Galileo Galilei announced that it would resume activities under a new lineup consisting of Yuuki Ozaki, Kazuki Ozaki, Masaki Okazaki, and Ikuto Iwai.
On March 29, 2023, the band released its first box set, Tsunagari Daisuki Box. From May of the same year, it held the “Bee and The Whales Tour 2023”, visiting Zepp venues in five cities across Japan. During the final performance at Zepp Haneda (TOKYO), the band announced that it would hold the “Galileo Galilei Tour 2023 ‘WINTER HARVEST’ - Fuyu no Shuukakusai -”, touring Sapporo, Osaka, and Tokyo in November. As the Zepp tour sold out immediately in every location, leaving many fans unable to obtain tickets, the new tour was scheduled for the autumn.
From November 3, 2023, Galileo Galilei’s first theatrical work, Gekijoban Bokura no Galileo Galilei: Aetane, was released in cinemas. Its theme song, “Aetane”, was released digitally on October 11.
Episodes
The Ozaki brothers and their childhood friend Hitoshi Sakou (佐孝仁司) had always played together since elementary school, and therefore began listening to music at the same time. From the upper grades of elementary school, they listened to SUPERCAR, Quruli, and the pillows. They began listening to Western music in junior high school; the first artist Yuuki became absorbed in was Radiohead, and he liked Kid A and admired the band after watching live footage on YouTube. At the time, guitars seemed cooler than synthesizers, although they also apparently admired electronic sounds.
Before entering Senkou Riot 2008, when they were participating in another contest, each member came up with two possible band names. The names were written on slips of paper, placed in a tissue box, and chosen by lottery. “Galileo Galilei” was one of the candidates proposed by Hitoshi Sakou, inspired by his memory of a note in his world history notebook stating, “Galileo Galilei advocated heliocentrism.”
At Senkou Riot 2008, Fumito Iwai (岩井郁人), during his time with Guild, approached Galileo Galilei backstage while playing their song “Hello Goodbye” and said, “This is a really easy song, isn’t it?” which made the members somewhat angry. According to Iwai, he had instantly been captivated by the song and wanted to become friendly with the people who performed the music he had copied. He approached them while playing guitar and presenting his “cheerful self,” intending to say, “This song is really easy to remember and a good song,” but his wording caused a misunderstanding.
Following the release of “Hamanasu no Hana” in February 2010, the band moved its base of operations to Tokyo. On headlining tours around Japan, tickets for live houses with a capacity of 3,000 sold out immediately upon going on sale. On the other hand, their public image as a “guitar rock band” became fixed, making it difficult for them to create music freely, and they gradually reached an impasse due to the stress of unfamiliar life in Tokyo and other factors.
In March 2011, the band moved its base of operations to a detached house in its hometown of Sapporo, Hokkaido, in order to revitalize itself. The members converted the house’s garage themselves, creating their private studio, “Wanwan Studio.”
At an early stage, all of the members purchased laptop computers and began producing music individually using desktop music production software. During the recording of the single “Ashita e,” which marked their attempt at a full-fledged electronic sound, they went through repeated trial and error. However, they came to create songs without being bound by fixed instrumental roles, with Yuuki devising the bass phrase for the A-melody section and Kazuki playing the synthesizer for that part.
For their second album, PORTAL, they attempted bedroom recording at Wanwan Studio for the first time. Until then, the composition of nearly all of their songs had been credited to Yuuki Ozaki, but all newly recorded songs included on this work were credited as composed and arranged by Galileo Galilei.
Regarding the end of the band, in addition to the published statement, Yuuki denied all of the following as supplementary explanations: that the three members’ passion for music had faded and that they could no longer continue making music; that the three members had fallen out or differed musically; and that they were ashamed of a band that had become associated with the image of its early songs. In the “Galileo and Aoi Shiori” special broadcast on FM802’s program 802 BINTANG GARDEN, Yuuki stated that discussions of ending the band had begun during the production of the mini-album See More Glass, that they had intended for the mini-album to be their final work, and that the reason was that each member had felt the limits of creating music for the band Galileo Galilei within the collective entity of a three-member band.
Sources
- Wikidata entity Q2483689.
- en.wikipedia, Galileo Galilei (band) (revision 1355967970), CC BY-SA 4.0.
- ja.wikipedia, Galileo Galilei (revision 110585281), CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photograph: Galileo Galilei.jpg - Press shot via Deezer (artist 4766237).