State River Widening are a London based musical trio, formed in May 1998, comprising multi-instrumentalists David Sheppard and Keiron Phelan, along with drummer/percussionist Jon Steele.
Friends from school (in south London) Sheppard and Phelan began experimental recordings in 1996, soon hooking up with percussionist Steele to leaven their intertwining, Nick Drake-like acoustic guitars with vigorous yet dexterous drumming.
Further singles and compilation tracks appeared before the November 1999 release of SRW’s eponymous debut (on rising independent imprint Rocket Girl), drawing plaudits from Delusions of Adequacy, who observed that the band's "intoxicating back-to-nature acoustic explorations supplied the Anglo-agrarian answer to Chicago's urbanite post-rock crowd".
With strings, additional percussion and, on one track, the voice of reclusive 1960s folk singer Anne Briggs, Cottonhead was SRW’s most artistically ambitious and sophisticated record to date.
In 2005, Phelan and Sheppard signed (under their own names) to The Leaf Label and at the end of the year began work on a new album, with ex-Laika mainstay Guy Fixsen assisting.