River Moon

River Moon was born on 12 August 1998^[12] in Cape Town, South Africa, and moved to New York City around the age of four, before returning to Cape Town again around the age of 19.^[2] They worked as a mortician's apprentice during the COVID-19 pandemic and has said that they have failed their embalming license test three times.^[13]

River Moon and Laina Berry joined Patia Borja as a moderator of the famed Instagram meme account @patiasfantasyworld in 2019,^[14] when it had around 5000 followers.^[2] The account posted content largely relating to Black cultural life and experiences,^[15] experiencing significant growth during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.^[16][14] By June 2022, the account had amassed over 540 thousand followers.^[11] River Moon's involvement with the account significantly expanded the audience for their music.^[7][17] In July 2020, they released their debut mixtape, Martyr, which was noted for its "ambient instrumentals and obscure production".^[5] Following the death of Scottish electronic musician Sophie in 2021, British music magazine Stamp the Wax published a DJ mix that River Moon had created as a tribute to the artist.^[18] River Moon relocated from Cape Town to Los Angeles in 2022,^[7] and then to Berlin in 2023.^[19]

As an opening act for American singer Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour in September 2023, River Moon performed a back-to-back DJ set with Goth Jafar at the NRG Stadium in Houston.^[20][21] They performed their first live show in that same year, as a supporting act for French electronic musician Coucou Chloe in Berlin.^[19] They also performed at the renowned nightclub Berghain as part of the venue's first-ever lineup composed exclusively of Black artists.^[19] River Moon was included on Mixmag's list of the 'Top 25 Breakthrough DJs Of The Year' for 2023.^[19] They were announced as a performer for Sónar festival in Barcelona in 2024.^[22] River Moon also performed at Planned Parenthood's annual fundraising gala in New York City in April 2024.^[23]

River Moon said they have an acting role as well as soundtrack contributions in the upcoming comedy-drama film Club Kid (2026),^[24][25] which premiered at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.^[26]

River Moon uses they/them pronouns.^[8] They underwent an emergency hip replacement in 2020,^[8] followed by a second hip replacement in 2023 during a period of sepsis.^[13] This procedure took place six weeks before their performance at Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour, during which time they were reportedly still undergoing gait training.^[13]