I set my hihats using a Euclidean-style distribution. It’s not straight 16th notes or totally regular, instead it gives a slightly off-grid, pushed-forward energy, like a 5 over 16 or 7 over 16 type of feel.

I also placed my kick on a regular 4/4 grid (the base groove) and used automation to emphasise the first beat of every bar and layered it with a cymbal crash.

the placement of my melodic elements seem to be moving in a cycle that doesn’t line up perfectly every bar like a triplet-based rhythm or even a 5-note loop over a 4-beat bar. This creates a polyrhythmic tension, where the loop takes multiple bars to “sync back up” with the main beat.