Kl kl man. Im going to check out this vinyl sim comp as iv just been using the dance eq and loudness efx on the 808 for this kind of stuff.
Using the dj looper to add swing to patterns sounds like a good idea.
Im sure it will give some fresh and random outcomes which we all know are the best when it comes to production with sp's.
Iv been making pads and copying the part to a second pad, hi passing one then reversing it and adding reverb or delay to get some strange harmony efx's next to the orignal sample.
Also a touch of chromatic ps and whatever else fits the sound your working with.
As for drums you get the sound from layering not from compression in my experiance.
Looks like the answer is continue to wing it with each sound and keep experimenting.
Thanks for advice.
http://soundcloud.com/xaouen/border-crossing