Fumito Iwai (岩井郁人, Iwai Fumito, born December 24, 1990), is a Japanese musician. Debuting as a member of the Hokkaido rock band Galileo Galilei in 2009, he left to form a new musical unit, Folks.

Fumito Iwai
Born (1990-12-24) December 24, 1990 (age 33)[1][2]
Eniwa, Hokkaido, Japan
OriginJapan
GenresRock, pop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active2009–present

Biography

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Iwai was born in Eniwa, Hokkaido in 1990. In junior high school, he and his friends formed a band called Guild in 2007.[3][4][5] The group performed at rock events in Sapporo from 2007 onwards, and self-produced an extended play, Shinzō (心臓, "Heart"), in August 2008, followed by a self-released single called "Tsubasa" (ツバサ, "Wings") in February 2009.[4][6][7] The band entered the School of Lock! national teenage rock contest, Senkō Riot, in 2008, and performed at the round three Sapporo semi-finals.[8] The band did not make it to the national finals, but met the semi-final winner, Galileo Galilei.[9]

In 2009 after Folks went on hiatus, Galileo Galilei vocalist Yuuki Ozaki told Iwai to come to Wakkanai, Hokkaido, where Galileo Galilei members were going to high school, as their guitarist, Sōhei Funaya, had left. Iwai accepted, and lived at the house of band's bassist, Hitoshi Sakō.[9][10] Iwai joined the band on August 31, 2009 as a support member.[11] Galileo Galilei made their major debut with SME Records in 2010, moving to Tokyo. Their debut full-length album, Parade, reached number five on Oricon's album charts.[12] In March 2011, the band relocated to Sapporo, and the bandmates started living together, calling their home Galileo House.[13] In Galileo Galilei, Ozaki was the main lyricist songwriter, and would give ideas to Iwai and other band members to work on further.[14] Iwai did not feel confident in his ideas and lyrics, however wrote the music for their 2011 single "Asu e", and worked on many of the songs on Portal (2012), including most of the work on the instrumental song "Blue River Side Alone". Iwai started to feel like he wanted to influence the Japanese music scene more by himself, and in July 2012, during the demo sessions for Baby, It's Cold Outside, told Ozaki that he wanted to be the front man of his own band.[14][15] On September 13, 2012, it was officially announced that Iwai would leave the band with fellow member Kazumasa Noguchi, so that Iwai could challenge himself with something new musically.[16]

In 2012, Iwai and Noguchi returned to Hokkaido to set up their own band, and asked former Guild member Yoshitomo Kobayashi to join. They moved to Sapporo to further their music career, and rented a house with Iwai's older brother Katsutoshi Iwai.[17][18][19] Iwai and Masatsugu Takahashi had a separate band at the same time, and after realising that both groups would work well together, the two bands merged in January 2013, forming Folks and basing themselves at the Iwai household in Megumino.[14][19]

The group released their first extended play, Take Off, digitally on March 29, 2013, and made their major label debut under Ki/oon Music in 2014 with the extended play Newtown.[19]

Songwriting discography

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  • 2011: "Asu e" (Galileo Galilei) (music)
  • 2012: "Blue River Side Alone" (Galileo Galilei) (music)
  • 2013: "Replica" (Folks) (lyrics and music)
  • 2013: "Forever" (Folks) (lyrics and music)
  • 2013: "You're Right" (i.e. "Gaga") (lyrics and music)
  • 2014: "Everything Is Alone" (Folks) (lyrics and music)
  • 2014: "Two Young" (Folks) (lyrics and music)
  • 2014: "Good-bye, Friends" (Folks) (lyrics and music)
  • 2014: "Hometown Story" (Folks) (lyrics and music)
  • 2014: "Paradise" (Folks) (lyrics and music)

References

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  1. ^ Fumito Iwai (2007). 岩井郁人 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 15, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  2. ^ Galileo Galileiのプロフィール [Galileo Galilei Profile]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  3. ^ メンバーそれぞれの活動 [What each member is doing] (in Japanese). Guild Official Website. 2009. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "インタビュー the Guild" (in Japanese). August 25, 2008. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  5. ^ "Apple Seed" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 23, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  6. ^ "Live" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  7. ^ "Discography" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  8. ^ "閃光ライオット 3次LIVE審査出場者スペシャル!!!!" [Senkō Riot third stage live participants special!!!] (in Japanese). June 23, 2008. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "INTERVIEW Galileo Galilei 2012年01月号掲載" (in Japanese). Skream!. 2012. Archived from the original on August 21, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  10. ^ 快進撃がとまらない!ガリレオガリレイの初素顔 [The greatness never ends! Galileo Galilei's first in-depth]. Junon (in Japanese). 38 (7). Tokyo, Japan: Shufu to Seikatsu Sha: 51. May 22, 2010.
  11. ^ "Guild" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 6, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  12. ^ "Galileo Galileiのリリース一覧" [A Look at Galileo Galilei' Releases]. Oricon. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  13. ^ Sayako Oki (2011). "FEATURE Galileo Galilei 2011年12月号掲載" (in Japanese). Skream!. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  14. ^ a b c Sachi Harada (April 5, 2013). "クリエイターが繋がる界隈を作っていきたい FOLKS 岩井郁人 2013.04.05 Friday" [Folks' Fumito Iwai: I want to create a community of interlinked creators] (in Japanese). Kram!. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  15. ^ "INTERVIEW Galileo Galilei 2012年11月号掲載" (in Japanese). Skream!. 2012. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  16. ^ Masaru Sekiguchi (September 14, 2012). "Galileo Galileiからギター・岩井郁人とキーボード・野口一雅が脱退" [Galileo Galilei's guitarist Fumito Iwai and keyboardist Kazumasa Noguchi leave] (in Japanese). RBB Today. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  17. ^ Sachi Harada (February 11, 2014). "FOLKS 「感情を理論でコントロールした音楽って最強にかっこいい」2014.02.11 Tuesday" [Folks: Music with theory-controlled emotions is the coolest thing.] (in Japanese). Kram!. Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  18. ^ Saori Kishiba (February 2014). "Interview: Folks" (in Japanese). Skream!. Archived from the original on February 10, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  19. ^ a b c Chie Saito (December 13, 2013). 恵庭のバンド「フォークス」、2月メジャーデビュー ガリレオ・ガリレイ元メンバー・岩井さんら、今年1月に結成 [Eniwa band 'Folks' major debut in February. Galileo Galilei former member Iwai and band members formed in January this year.] (in Japanese). Hokkaido Shimbun Press. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
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