{{Short description|Australian musical group}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}} {{Use Australian English|date=April 2015}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = B(if)tek | image = | alt = B(if)tek | caption = | years_active = 1996–2003 | origin = Canberra, Australia | genre = Electronica | label = Murmur/Sony | current_members = Kate Crawford<br />Nicole Skeltys | website = {{URL|www.biftek.com}} }}
'''B(if)tek''' was an Australian electronic music duo comprising Kate Crawford and Nicole Skeltys, which formed in Canberra in 1994. They released three albums, ''Sub-Vocal Theme Park'' (1996), ''2020'' (2000) and ''Frequencies Will Move Together'' (2003) before disbanding in 2003. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999, B(if)tek were nominated as Best Dance Release for the track "Bedrock", which appeared on their second album.<ref>[http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/1999 Aria Awards 1999]</ref> The group also composed a four-minute soundtrack for the Kspace exhibition at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.<ref>[http://www.nma.gov.au/education-kids/families/kspace National Museum of Australia – Kspace]</ref>
== History == ===1994-2003: B(if)tek=== In 1993, in Canberra Kate Crawford and Nicole Skeltys formed B(if)tek as an electronic music group, and began writing material for their first album, ''Sub-Vocal Theme Park'' (1996).<ref name="Moses">{{cite web | url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/10/1057783281473.html | title = Hertz so good | last = Moses | first = Alexa | work = The Sydney Morning Herald | publisher = Fairfax Media | date = 11 July 2003 | accessdate = 7 April 2016 }}</ref> Biftek comes from French ''le biftek'', which is borrowed from the English "beefsteak", while the English "beef" is originally from the French ''le bœuf''. It was sourced from Jean-Luc Goddard's 1961 film, ''Une femme est une femme''.<ref name="Moses"/> According to the band's website, the album was recorded by the duo during 1995 and 1996 in a local suburban garage and was released as a limited edition of 500 copies on the independent Geekgirl label.<ref name="Official 1st">{{cite web | archive-url = https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20050321130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/20906/20050322-0000/www.biftek.com/releases/detail3a9f.html | url = http://www.biftek.com/releases/detail3a9f.html | title = b(if)tek: ''Sub-Vocal Theme Park'' | publisher = B(if)tek Official Website | archive-date = 21 March 2005 | accessdate = 7 April 2016 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="NLA 1st">{{Citation | author1 = B(if)tek | author2 = Skeltys, Nicole | author-link2 = Nicole Skeltys | author3 = Crawford, Kate | author-link3 = Kate Crawford | author4 = Geek Girl | title = Sub-vocal theme park: acid unravelled | publication-date = 1996 | publisher=Geek Girl | url = http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/22960675 | accessdate = 7 April 2016 }}</ref>
''Blatant Propaganda''{{'}}s reviewer felt that ''Sub-Vocal Theme Park'' showed "a range of cruisey analogue-synth based tracks... Trippy listening music, with lots of burbling bass, mellow grooves, occasional samples, and spluttering filtered percussions."<ref name="Blatant">{{cite journal | url = http://www.blatantpropaganda.org/reviews/issue1/biftek.html | title = B(if)tek Review | journal = Blatant Propaganda | issue = 1 | accessdate = 7 April 2016 }}</ref> B(if)tek had a close association with the Clan Analogue collective.
By 2000, the duo were based in Melbourne. They had signed with the Murmur label, distributed by Sony Music Australia.<ref name="Brown">{{cite web | url = http://inthemix.junkee.com/biftek-taking-the-piss/74 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160417140255/http://inthemix.junkee.com/biftek-taking-the-piss/74 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 17 April 2016 | title = B(if)tek: taking the piss | last = Brown | first = Sophia | work = In the Mix | publisher = Junkee Media | date = 5 December 2000 | accessdate = 7 April 2016 }}</ref>
For their 2003 album, ''Frequencies Will Move Together'', the band received a grant from the federal government to investigate the effects of low-frequency sounds on people.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Frequencies will move together |others=B(if)tek |year=2003 |type=insert |publisher= Subvocal }}</ref>
===2004-present: After break-up=== After the split, Nicole Skeltys changed musical direction, forming the psychedelic folk band '''Dust''' and releasing the album ''Songs'' in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nicoleskeltys.com/bio/ |title=Nicole Skeltys: Bio |access-date=11 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105084851/http://www.nicoleskeltys.com/bio/ |archive-date=5 November 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In late 2007, she formed the band '''The Jilted Brides''' and released the album ''Larceny of Love''. Since 2008, she has been based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In 2006, Kate Crawford began hosting experimental music television show ''Set'' on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She is also an author and academic and lives and works in Sydney.
In 2019, Kate Crawford, as one half of a duo named Metric Systems, released an album on Best Effort Records, named ''[https://besteffortrecords.bandcamp.com/album/people-in-the-dark People in the Dark]''. Metric Systems is a collaboration with Bo Daley of Dark Network. The eight songs that make up ''People in the Dark'' were recorded in studios across Sydney, Melbourne, Berlin, and New York over sixteen years. The album draws from a large archive of recordings that move between minimal techno, modular downtempo, and more abstract electroacoustic experimentation.
== Discography == ===Studio albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Album details ! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS<br><ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010|year=2011|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia|edition=PDF|page=30}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| ''Sub-Vocal Theme Park (Acid Unravelled)'' | * Released: 1996 * Label: B(if)tek * Formats: CD (500 copies) | - |- ! scope="row"| ''2020'' | * Released: August 2000 * Label: Murmur (MATTCD105) * Formats: CD, 2×LP | 60 |- ! scope="row"| ''Frequencies Will Move Together'' | * Released: 2003 * Label: Inertia Recordings (SUBVOX001CD) * Formats: 2×CD | - |- |}
===Singles=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Title ! colspan="1"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Album |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! style="width:40px;"| AUS<br/><ref name=aus/> |- | 1998 | "Bedrock " | style="text-align:center;"| — | rowspan="4"| ''2020'' |- | 1999 | "We Think You're Dishy" | style="text-align:center;"| — |- | rowspan="2"| 2000 | "Machines Work" | style="text-align:center;"| — |- | Wired for Sound <small>(feat. Julee Cruise)</small> | style="text-align:center;"| 88 |- |}
==Awards== ===ARIA Music Awards=== The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. B(if)tek were nominated for one award.<ref name="Dncerls">ARIA Award previous winners. {{cite web|url=http://ariaawards.com.au/history/award/best-dance-release|title=Winners By Award - 27th ARIA Awards 2013|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)|access-date=1 March 2014}}</ref>
{{awards table}} |- | 1999 | "Bedrock" | Best Dance Release | {{nom}} |- {{end}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{Official website|www.biftek.com/}}
{{Authority control}} {{Improve categories|date=February 2026}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Biftek}} Category:Australian women in electronic music Category:Female musical duos