Having been interested in music utilizing tape loops for many years, I finally bought a Lexicon JamMan in August 1996. This piece of equipment opened up whole new areas (for me at least), and I've been developing music based on repeated lines, gradually transforming from one "soundscape" to another since then. Other gear that has proved invaluable includes the Line 6 Delay Modeler, a Digitech JamMan, and a variety of other delay inducing "stomp boxes" such as those from Zoom and Ibanez.
The problems inherent with this process are, of course, a reliance on one's ability to either avoid mistakes, or better still, make interesting ones, and benefit from them.
I have been fortunate enough, over the years, to find several sympathetic venues, which have allowed me to hone these skills in public. These include the Croydon Clocktower Arts Centre, the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, and perhaps most significantly, the British Library in London.
