The Delay device is capable of recording up to (I think) a total length of 32 beats. Depending on the overall BPM/tempo, you can easily achieve very long delay times with this effect, with a reasonable amount of control over the signal (volume, panning, wet/dry mix )
As for the minimalist approach, I would simply see how far I could get without writing any special scripts etc., using Renoise and it’s built-in capabilities.
Btw: did you see Sato’s topic about live looping? Lookie here…