The first thing I thought about while reading the article was minimalist classical music, like Philip Glass.

I think Glass does the repetitive/unexpected thing exceptionally well, though it's often subtle.

If you're already familiar with Glass (or if you like Beck) you might want to check out Beck's song from Rework, an album of remixed Glass: https://soundcloud.com/dunvagenmusic/nyc-73-78

It's repetitive, but has enough of the unexpected mixed in to make it a stimulating listen.