When I think techno, I first think of Detroit. Somewhat minimal. Mechanical. Devoid of the human touch in a way. Repetative. Synthetic and percussive. The beauty of it being in the little details that arise. Can be slow to insanely driving. It my head it's a highly specific sound... really nothing like the other genres IMO.

I saw a Derrick May set a long time ago.. it was very basic, but insanely pounding. He knew just when to cut... let it breath.. let it build.. almost hypnotic.

defining techno with names such as alice deejay or darude is just wrong. i'ts just wrong i say! =)

i dont listen to much techno these days but i strongly recommend a hefty dose of Umek if you want my definition of techno.
the guys from slovenia and his actual name is Uros Umek.
thats about the badest name i've seen. cant go wrong with that.
hard, throbbing and lots of weird noises. wonderful!