The emergence in the last three years of "house and funky" as a force on the UK pirate underground has been inspirational. Some people have pointed out its blatant parallels with the rise of 2000s UK garage, while new funky producers have fallen over themselves to update UKG classics for a new decade. And while new producers continue to flourish, the original UK garage heavyweights themselves have clearly been inspired too-- none more so than MJ Cole.

For those unfamiliar with his classy, peerless output, MJ Cole shot to fame with seductive garage classic "Sincere", having been an engineer for junglists S.O.U.R. Two major-label albums showcased his slick, musical style, though he was never afraid of making a rude dub for the clubs, as his countless remixes proved.

Then things suddenly took a turn for the worse. His label was disbanded and things began to unravel for Cole in ways symbolic of what was happening to UK garage as a whole. "These were the darker years for me," admits Cole. He'd started his own imprint, Prolific, and club night; he worked on different projects (including a rock band and a duo with Laura Vane). Yet something wasn't right. "I was searching for musical satisfaction but nothing was really clicking. I was bored with the 'old school garage' sound and was looking for something new." The future wasn't clear.

"At the beginning of 2009 things changed," he explains. "Music became exciting to me again. Genres began to blur. Bass music became the focus and it seemed like everybody was creating some great new sounds. Since then I've been hugely inspired and have been releasing records independently on my label and have been remixing and producing more than ever with frequent trips out of the studio to DJ at fantastic gigs with great people".

MJ Cole in a hugely inspirational mood is a force to be reckoned with, and since his 2009 epiphany, his output has been, well, huge and inspirational. While part of the joy of UK funky was watching a new breed of producers perfect their craft, it was equally exciting to see someone as imminently capable as Cole get quickly involved. So for every home grown funky anthem like Ill Blu [ft. Shystie]'s "Pull It" or Funkystepz's "Bounce", there's the equally rude "AO" [ft. Serocee] or his Funky Dubb of his own "Gotta Have It".

"UK Funky has had a big effect on me," he admits, as if it even needed stating. "Here were the parts of UKG which I connected with all those years ago but presented within a new rhythmic structure and with a new sense of freshness and energy. It's been a lot of fun playing with these new toys and influences. I wouldn't say that I'm now immersed in the funky scene only-- it's become a time of cross[ing] genres and truly eclectic DJ sets and live shows. This I like very much."

But asked about the parallels between UKG and UKF, he concurs. "I think that's a fair connection to make," Cole says, "The similarities between the two begin with the tempo-- both around 130bpm. Funky has a pirate radio feel, often vocal-led, featuring MCs, a very UK sound, quite soulful in its foundations with skippy rhythms and big bass lines. UKG had all these elements too to my ears".

Cole is not the only UKG producer to find himself inspired, with garage dons and dubstep co-founders Zed Bias, El-B, and even the elusive Steve Gurley producing new tracks in the 130bpm range. As if to cement the point, Cole and Bias got in the studio together last year. "Funnily enough myself and Dave [Zed Bias] never worked together back in the day," Cole chuckles. "In fact I think we only met in passing maybe once or twice. Collabs weren't so common then. It was a blast working together-- Dave is and extraordinary musician with a deep love and understanding of grooves and low end theory. The result was the 'Battlestations EP'. We're planning a followup."

Later this year, Cole is also putting out an EP by Roof Light, a new producer whose he describes as "a combination between Gurley, Burial, and [Burt] Bacharach." He's also done deliciously restrained 2step remixes of Todd Edwards and Zed Bias [ft Omar]. But before that, due on Prolific is the Riddim EP which features four stripped-down rhythm tracks for the clubs, the greatest of which is the immense "Volcano Riddim", a kind of dark orchestra string-lead banger that Wiley would have made in 2003 had he not frozen his eski synths into grime and instead chosen to pre-empt funky. It's effect on clubs is, as its title suggests, explosive.

What's striking about "Volcano Riddim", beyond what it does to venues, is how despite a decade of losing and rediscovering his musical faith, it sounds so unmistakably like MJ Cole. It makes you wonder despite all their vast output and broad inspirations (Cole describes his as "varied and from unlikely sources… audio nuggets from TV, passing cars, airports, radio, bleed from iPods, websites etc"), that perhaps some producers have fundamental production traits in their psyche than are hardwired into them and come out in their music, no matter what style they tackle.

Interestingly, Cole agrees. "Yes, I believe musicians develop their own grasp of the musical language in much the same way a growing human does with spoken language," he says. We all pick up little quirks and approaches to music making. These may develop from physical habits, such as the way hands naturally fall over the keyboard or mental routes which always reap rewards. The musical mind always remembers taking a turn which results in success. I think also that a musician always has an internal "visualisation" of what sounds "good" to them and that their hands are always trying to find this."

Follow @MartinclarkLDN on Twitter. Out now on Keysound is Skream's "Sweetz (2005 flex)"/ "Angry World. Next is LV's 5-track "38" EP, then it's LHF time. Dusk + Blackdown will be DJing in Austin and LA in May.