Brampton’s Akaldeep Singh, better known as the EDM producer Dakku, is one of 10 Canadian artists selected for the 2026 South Asian Music Accelerator program (SAMA).
Growing up in rural India, Akaldeep Singh says that he didn’t know that pursuing a career in music was a possibility. But when he landed in Canada in 2022, friends were quick to usher him to a new world of entertainment and music that opened his eyes and changed his goals.
“They introduced me to Skrillex, Diplo – all of these Western artists, like DJs,” Singh said in an interview with INSAUGA Canada.
That was all it took to get Singh to get into electronic dance music (EDM), who is now a producer bending genres who goes by the name Dakku when he’s behind the mixer.
By day he’s an architect, but Dakku spends his spare time blending EDM with the traditional Indian folks songs he grew up with going to DJ gigs with his dad back in Punjab, India.
“My father used to be a wedding DJ back home in India, so when I was younger, I used to go alongside with him,” Dakku told INSAUGA. “I got to know the DJing thing and this whole digital production thing actually worked in the West.”
With his love of music now “resurfaced” in Canada, Dakku says he noticed a gap in the EDM scene for Indian artists and producers.
“So I wanted to fill up that space right now,” Dakku says, adding that there’s “a huge market for it.”
South Asian acts have been well-supported by Canada’s music awards scene in recent years, with Punjabi artist Karan Aujla winning the 2024 JUNO TikTok Fan Choice Award. The JUNOs have also introduced the category of South Asian Music Production of the Year.
READ MORE: Punjabi music new sound is based in Canada, B.C. and Brampton artists compete at Juno Awards
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The Punjabi wave, as its been called, is a blend of the Indo-Aryan languages with sounds of global hip-hop, R&B and trap music. Its been made popular by artists like Aujla, AP Dhillon, Karan Aujla, Gurinder Gill and producer Ikky.
Collaborating with other local artists and friends, Dakku has two self-produced albums with a third on the way. He was one of 10 Canadian artists selected for the 2026 South Asian Music Accelerator program (SAMA).
Running October 18 to 24 at various studios and ArtHaus spaces across Toronto, SAMA is a national artist-development program created to support South Asian artists, songwriters and producers as they build sustainable careers in music.
The program combines workshops, mentorship, collaborative songwriting and production sessions, live-performance development, business education, marketing and brand strategy, financial literacy, wellness and industry relationship-building across Canada’s music sector.
Dakku says he’s already made some valuable connections through the SAMA program. And while his genre-bending style may have caught the attention of SAMA judges, not everyone in the South Asian community has embraced his music.
“You can say because some people are traditional, they don’t like that when you mess with something which they hold dear and near to,” he says of combining folk songs with electronic beats. “So for I think I would say like with the community, it’s a mixed reaction.”
You can follow Dakku on his Instagram or listen to his releases on his YouTube page.
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