Our Founding Members
Ben Philcox
Founder and Managing Director
Ben is an educator with sixteen years experience as a degree and postgraduate level academic professional, specialising in music technology. He has a particular interest in the use of spatial generative music in well-being, with various projects developed with a number of different institutions such as the University of Plymouth, dBs Institute Bristol and Plymouth, Catalyst (Berlin), and Bath Spa University.
While exploring his passion for generative music, Ben found that combining the creative music making process with a form of active meditation had an intensely positive effect on his well-being. Having realised the un-told benefits of this practice, Ben decided to share his discovery and 637 was born!
Julian Cox
Director and Head of Meditation
With forty years of experience in meditation and self-healing practical techniques, Julian is the founder of Āyā - Awaken Your Awareness, a Health and Well-being non-profit organisation that specialises in complementary natural self-healing methods, which includes a school of meditation, teaching over fifteen different types of meditation.
Āyā works closely with the Health and Social Care department of Cornwall Council, as well St Petrocs Society for the Homeless, Safer Cornwall Org, and Truro and Penwith Academy Trust (supporting primary and secondary schools in Cornwall).
Giles Mountford
Brand and Performance
MD and Founder of Dair, Giles is a consultant and writer.
He supports coaches and leaders to develop their performance and organisational brands. His client list includes the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Arsenal Football Club, British Cycling, The Swedish Ice Hockey Association and England Squash. He has worked in Rugby over the past 20 years, most notably leading the brand review for the British & Irish Lions in 2014, for whom he now provides ongoing support.
Previous Chairman of the ECB Fellowship of Coaches, Giles is also the co-founder and contributor to Dair Magazine, an open access platform that explores all aspects of performance and performance improvement.
Andreas Ivarsson
Head of Research
Andreas Ivarsson, PhD, is a Professor in Psychology and Vice Dean of Faculty for School of Health and Welfare at Halmstad University, Sweden, a scientific adviser for the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and the Swedish Soccer Association, and a research fellow at Arsenal FC and the Swedish Olympic Committee.
Andreas also works as a sport psychology consultant, mainly in football, and has had positions both at National teams as well as at clubs competing at the highest level in Sweden. Andreas has authored over 125 scientific journal articles, and has given 200+ workshops, seminars, symposia for different audiences. Andreas is Senior Section Editor at the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sport, Associate Editor for Psychology of Sport, Exercise and International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology as well as for Science and Medicine in Football.
Our Extended Team
Natalia Mamcarczyk
Technical Consultant
Natalia is an established sound artist, designer and engineer, specialising in spatial and immersive audio, specifically Higher Order Ambisonics, Dolby Atmos and binaural experiences. Natalia also has a record of project development and 1-2-1 mentorship provision for young, emerging, and successful music producers, supporting their projects with field recording, soundscape incorporation and spatial audio implementation (funded through British Council, PRS Foundation, ACE)
Robert Thomas
Technical Consultant
Robert is a leading expert in adaptive and generative functional music for health. He has composed many functional music soundtracks including music for exercise, driving, meditation, sleep, emotions, focus, lunar cycles, traffic, weather, heart rate, internet data, stress levels and had entire audiences interacting with his music.