FROM time to time we all hear tantalising snippets of strange, beautiful music pressed into television advertising. We have our own Kilmeaden cheese advertisement which stamps its card with the authenticity of the bodhran, the bacon ones, validated by uilleann pipes. But then there was that Bulmers advertisement with Bulgarian female voices, a Carling beer one with Cajun accordion and fiddle. That's the limit of most Irish people's exposure to the musics of other cultures. So how does one get to hear more? And where can it be found?

The musics of any non-Western cultures are shelved by the record retailers under "World" music, a handy enough label if you're in HMV or Virgin and are intimidated by the acres of albums on display. Maybe not so comforting if you're South African, Malaysian, Mongolian, Pakistani, Bulgarian or Senegalese and are forced to realise that despite vast cultural differences you are just part of "the other". In Japan, in fact, the place to find Irish music is also under "World". Still one could choose to see it as a source of strength, and the term is now surprisingly gaining academic recognition. Music from the African continent is a huge chunk of this market, and the variety on offer even in Irish shops can include, on the one hand, bad Pop, sound-alike Rock, sham Folk, and Westernised crooning, but on the other, some of the most stunning vocal and instrumental feats of genius and talent.

Besides names like the Sabri brothers, Shiela Chandra, Ali Farka Toure or Baba Maal, mention of individual stars makes little sense - talking of record labels is more informative. For instance, the Japanese giant JVC has a 150 different albums in their "World Sounds" series, all graded by region and country. Among these is a spectacular tribute to Mongolian "hoomii" (bi-phonic singing), unison "morin huur" (two-string fiddle) and female voice, "her huur" (Jew's harp) and "shanz" (banjo-like lute). There are whole series too from each region of Asia. Therein the world becomes indeed a very small, cross-fertilised place as one listens to Latin tenor Batak song, or Siberian narrative singing from Tuva.

Gamelan orchestra is a feature of localised Indonesian material - from Peliatan village the "Gunung Jati" group shows this xylophone, drum and gong ensemble in wonderful, intricate variety.

Korean song from Nando has flute with fiddle-matched, glottal-stop-rich, hoarse song, surprisingly close in ethos to our own sean-nos. Among musics from the African continent are the terrific hard-hitting lyrics and "Highlife" big-brass of Mamadou Doumbia, Egyptian "oud" (lute) player Hamza El Din with Arabic orchestral interludes and superb, throat-caught, halting lyrics. From Cuba is Salsa with the flamboyant Yumuri, from Oran city is Cheb Tati with heavy percussion, electronics aid "scratching", blended with passionate vocals by one of Algeria's best-known "Rai" singers (a treat for any young dance-fan).

JVC'S "Voices" series might be of more interest in this country. This includes female singer Urtiin Duu (JVC 5394-2) whose sleeve-notes claim a combination of "the talent of a jazz diva with the power and range of an opera singer". The Dagar brothers from Northern India are spectacularly portrayed with "Dhrupad" song style, Cantor Gregorian - Temps Nativitatis (5388-2) brings tenth-century, Northern Italian Christmas Gregorian chant to life. Song is the theme too of the Rounder three-album Global Divas, featuring the finest female voices from all over the world. Song too is the centre of Ellipsis Arts's Puende history of Flamenco, and similarly crossing that divide between "applied" music and eminently suited to western ears is Nusrat Ali Fateh Khan's Pakistani devotional lyrics on the Real World label.

There are many other players in this vast and growing field - World Circuit has Ali Farka Toure, Stern covers Africa Nimbus covers the globe, and even Green Linnet, normally associated with Irish Traditional music, has its own impressive Xenophile imprint. Another "Irish" label, Shanachie, has the Yazoo sub-title which boasts the earlier recordings of Hugh Masekela.

Realworld has more of the modernist end of things, Ryko is good on African and Indian music, Topic has straight-up performances, some up to 30 years old - from India, Bulgaria and Greece. Rough Guides do a series to complement their books, so too do the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, the Paris Musee de l'Homme (LDX) and the Berlin - House of World Cultures (WERGO). All labels produce cheaper sampler CDs - Rounder's CDAN15 in particular is a fine album in its own right, as are Realworld's and Nimbus's NI 7014. Folk roots magazine does many mixed bags, and Yazoo's two-volume The Secret Museum of Mankind is a nostalgic archive of pre-war sounds from all over the world.

All of the labels do mail order, but most bigger record shops carry quite a few items. The multi-nationals like Virgin and HMV have current material, Tower Records in Dublin's Exchequer Street has good choice. But smaller, specialised shops like Claddagh Records in the capital's Cecelia Street, Temple Bar, have not only large stocks and access to all catalogues, but also hands-on, specialised experience.