I love coming across other sound enthusiasts, not to say "melomeniacs", the French word for people that are completely manic about melodies & sounds! My experience in sound layering/sculpting is extremely similar to yours, though I don't have much money, I have used minimalist techniques to delve in that world as well. It has been extremely time consuming, but some of the results, when I have had the time and motivation to move further, were mind-blowing and still are. The techniques are all in my head and I can direct someone in producing it, as long as they have the program.

Here's a bit of an example in this video made many years ago. I hope you enjoy the journey. Joe Crawford had taken the shots and worked the console on the editing of his shots. Him and I had the same core screenplay in mind and applied it to the music I had composed for a film I had written a few years earlier. The main screenplay sequencing ended up being a reflection of the movie and paralleled its path using his images and the music I had produced.

Thanks a bunch for your great article, you deserve the upvote, follow and resteem! All for one and one for all! Namaste :)