randomer has this great knack for really bruising drum sounds, always a highlight tracks by him and also blawan. since many techno tracks tend to be functional ("DJ tools") rather than actual songs, the sounds of the baselines and drum programming are what make the difference between good and boring.
just last weekend, i pulled a bunch of old jeff mills and UR 12"s off the shelf and had a good ol' time. abe duque and the tension records crew were also a techno fav back in the day, a little heavier on the acid tip than the detroit guys.
i haven't followed techno that much in the last few years, who's doing it well nowadays? i've liked a fair amount of the blawan and pearson sound releases, also stuff on the livity sound label. never got into all the berlin ostgut ton stuff, dettmann, ben klock, etc. it's too sleek and clean for my tastes, i like my techno dirtier and grubbier (like randomer), although i do like answer code request and call super. ancient methods is ok, a bit industrial at times. silent servant rubs me the wrong way, for some reason.