Within the world music genre, success -- in terms of sales -- doesn't compare with the likes of mainstream pop and rock categories. What world music successes there have been have had a rather short shelf life, and were mainly cultivated by the major record companies.

Thus, there have been a few one-off hits for the likes of the Gypsy Kings, and from dance crazes such as the Lambada about 10 years ago. Some Western artists, notably Deep Forest and Enigma, have added various "ethnic" voices to modern rhythms, in some cases giving little credit to their sources. On a more positive note, Paul Simon and David Byrne have collaborated with African and Brazilian musicians to great effect. But the attempts of African stars like Youssou N'Dour or Salif Keita to reinvent themselves as pop artists in the Western world have mostly left their record companies in the red.

The current mania for the Latin pop of Ricky Martin or Marc Anthony owes much to the influence of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. Sung in English or Spanglish, the music is simply pop tinged with Latin, rather than world music.

In terms of integrity and spectacular sales -- purely on the strength of timeless music coupled with outstanding marketing -- there is nothing to match the album by the Buena Vista Social Club and two other Cuban masterpieces released in 1997 by the London-based independent record company World Circuit. Buena Vista has sold over 1.5 million copies, while octogenarian pianist and Buena Vista member Ruben Gonzalez and the Afro-Cuban All Stars, a project of four generations of Cuban musicians, have both sold a healthy 500,000 copies.

It's a success that looks set to be repeated with the release of the second installment of Buena Vista, featuring the voice of the 72-year-old Ibrahim Ferrer. On the face of it, perhaps these projects don't make much commercial sense. Bringing 70-, 80- and 90-year-old Cuban musicians out of retirement to play together and record son and other Cuban traditional styles isn't a formula major record companies have thought to hit upon before.

American guitarist Ry Cooder, another famous champion of various music styles from around the world, was involved, but he has stayed tastefully in the background. Cooder's influence as a spokesperson seems to be just as important as his role as a musician and producer.

"His words evoke the atmosphere and relevance of the whole project," says Jenny Adlington, World Circuit's marketing and artist relations director. "He calls it the most important musical experience of his life and is dedicated to the music and promotion of the project."

The latest album, titled "Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer," showcases the wonderful voice of Ferrer, one of the stars of the first album. With the same warm sound as its predecessor, the music ranges across Cuban styles, most notably this time romantic boleros, popular around the time of the Cuban revolution.

Before Buena Vista, Ferrer had been a rather disillusioned and retired back-up singer, formerly with the great Bene More, and for over 30 years with Pacho Alonso's band, Los Bocucos. His is a voice full of emotion, on an album that disproves the notion that "they don't make records like they used to."

Interest in the Buena Vista Social Club is set to reach new heights, with the release of a Wim Wenders film of the same name, essentially a documentary of the recording sessions and live footage of those rare concerts.

"Ry Cooder passed Wenders a tape back in 1996, just after the recording," recalls Adlington (the two had previously collaborated on the movies 'Paris, Texas' and 'The End of Violence'). "I remember Cooder calling Nick [Gold] to tell him that Wenders was interested in making a film documentary about the project. It was exciting but nobody believed it would happen. It wasn't until the recording of Ibrahim's album in 1998 that he made it down to Havana."

One of the effects of the Buena Vista Social Club has been a shift in trends on the island itself, where previously salsa and rap dominated the scene.

"Younger Cuban musicians have been complaining about the level of attention aimed at the older musicians. They feel that modern Cuban music has been ignored," Adlington says.

There has subsequently been a glut of Cuban releases from other European and American labels, although World Circuit seems unconcerned.

"There has been a surge of Western producers traveling to Cuba," says Adlington. "We don't work to trends. We shall continue to work with our fine roster of musicians to produce the highest quality recordings and push them to the best of their potential. It is an honor to work with such great musicians. The music and the success for the musicians have made it worth it."

"Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer" has been released in Japan on WEA Japan. The movie "Buena Vista Social Club" will be released in Japan next year.

Cooder believes hearing Ferrer singing bolero for the first time can change people's negative preconceptions about the music, much like hearing the great Gabby Pahuini did for Hawaiian music. A collaboration with slack key guitar player Pahuini back in the '70s was one of Cooder's first excursions into world music, and was an introduction for many to the noncommercial side of Hawaiian music.

Possibly even more versatile than Cooder at playing all types of Hawaiian music, on steel guitar, slack key guitar and ukulele, is Japanese player Yuki "Alani" Yamauchi. He has just released an album with another slack key guitarist, Ray Kane, titled "Maika'i no Blues," as well as a solo album of ukulele. The roots of slack key guitar go back to the 1830s, when Hawaiian cowboys picked up the acoustic guitars brought by the Spanish and Mexicans, and literally slackened the strings.

The sound of "Maika'i no Blues" is somewhat reminiscent of the legendary '60s group Sons of Hawaii that featured Gabby Pahuini, and includes his son Martin on backing vocals and guitar on some songs. Kane's is another voice, full of emotion with an earthy, soulful blues quality.

Yamauchi's solo album "Ukulele Hawaiian style" showcases the true Hawaiian style of playing, as well as demonstrating the instrument's origins with a tune from Portugal, and infiltrations of the ukulele into music from Indonesia and Tahiti.

"The ukulele is now a global instrument so I wanted to make an album that shows this," says Yamauchi. For his concert Yamauchi will be joined by three other Japanese musicians, and will play a full range of Hawaiian stringed instruments.