Our latest Off the Shelf guest is American singer-songwriter and musician Madi Diaz, whose latest album, Fatal Optimist, has just been released via Anti- (Order it here). In this series, we ask artists to present objects from a shelf or shelves in their homes and discuss them, a form of storytelling through objects.
Following her two-time Grammy-nominated album Weird Faith, Madi Diaz’s Fatal Optimist is her most stark and haunting collection to date. The album finds Diaz trading layered production for radical simplicity, creating an intimate soundscape that mirrors a period of intense, self-imposed isolation.
Born from the aftermath of a significant breakup, the songs were conceived after Diaz retreated to an island, transforming grief and rage into profound introspection.
In her own words, “Fatal Optimism is the innate hope for something magical. It’s the weird faith that kicks in while knowing that there is just plain risk that comes with wanting someone or something. It’s when you have no control over the outcome, but still choose to experience every moment that happens, and put your whole heart in it.”
Recorded with co-producer Gabe Wax, Fatal Optimist is a masterclass in minimalism, centred on Diaz’s voice and acoustic guitar. This stripped-back approach allows the raw emotion of her songwriting to resonate deeply, capturing a heavy, reflective mood she chose to inhabit fully. Diaz is currently supporting the album with an extensive North American tour (details at the end).
“This was the first time in my career that I stayed in this heavy place with the songs after leaving the studio rather than trying to escape it.”
Off the Shelf with Madi Diaz
Upright Piano
I got this upright piano for free from an old friend named Misa here in Nashville. It was when I first moved back to Nashville and decided to go without a kitchen table or dining room table because my place was so small that I couldn’t have a table AND a piano. We chaotically loaded it into the bed in the back of my Toyota Tacoma and drove it straight to my new doorstep. So many songs from the last almost 7 years have been written on this beauty, AND there’s a rumor that it used to belong to Johnny Cash and June Carter….
House Robes
These are my two favorite house robes. One I was given as a thrift gift found by my best friend and the other I purchased in Ischia while staying at a former monk monastery after a long tour. One is cheap light faux silk, and the other is hand-woven naturally dyed cotton. One I float around in during the hot summer months, and the other I burrow into when it’s too cold outside to move.
Antique Prints
I have ten antique prints given to me by an ex-love of mine. This ex knew my horse girl heart so well that I’ve found myself mentally hanging them before I move into any new space.
Mug
This mug was made by my mother. It’s my very favorite coffee mug, so much so that I don’t know why I own any other. It’s just the very perfect size to hold in hand, and the texture of the clay and joy of the light blue just makes my morning heart happy. I use it every day that I’m home.
Greek Myths
I just recently purchased a used copy of a Greek Myths book that my brother and I were OBSESSED with growing up. This book is just so fun to read, and the illustrations are so special. I’m thinking of getting a tattoo of something from here. It’s just a sweet, deep nostalgia and fond memory I have of reading this with Max, and I like having it on my coffee table.
Watercolor
This watercolor was a mid- History of a Feeling cycle tour gift to me from one of my best and closest friends and tour/bandmates, Adam Popick. It’s a depiction of the land and seascape at Popham beach in Maine, painted by his father, who was a prolific painter/artist. It was the only one in his collection that had this color pallet, and is my very favorite.
Collection shelves
I don’t know what these little shelves are called, but I’ve had them forever and I love them so much. I collect things from tour and travel and then put them here on display. This arrangement hasn’t changed much over the last 5 years: some rocks from all over the world, little knit dolls, a card from my favorite votive candle shop in LA, some bone deer teeth from a backyard in Pennsylvania, and two delicate little ceramic horses I found at an antique store somewhere.
Tarot Cards
These tarot cards are a gift from my best friend, Megan. I’ve had them for many years; they sit on my coffee table, and sometimes I take them with me when I know I’ll be away from home for a long while.
Porcelain Hands
These porcelain hands are a recent purchase from an estate sale. I think they’re so strange and beautiful, and I do my very very very best to keep my house keys in these hands so I always know where they are….I’m not the most organized person, so they don’t always make it, but I like to think over time, they will.
Porcelain Vase
Last and certainly never least ever, I have a porcelain vase piece made by my best friend Megan Bartley-Matthews (jeeze meggy you’re very very present in my house I love it so much). I love love love (clearly) more than anything owning art made by my friends/family/friendfamily – it just gives me such profound joy. One of my favorite things about this piece is how thin the porcelain has to be so that it can show the glow of the candle within on the outside. So much like a heart pouring through a person’s exterior surface. <3.
Fatal Optimist is out now: Order it here
Madi Diaz Tour Dates
Ticket Links: https://madidiaz.com/tour
Sat. Oct. 11 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East @
Mon. Oct. 13 – Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern Cafe & Music Hall #
Tue. Oct. 14 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry at The Fillmore Philadelphia #
Thu. Oct. 16 – Washington, D.C. @ Union Stage #
Fri. Oct. 17 – Lancaster, PA @ West Art #
Sat. Oct. 18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #
Mon. Oct. 20 – Somerville, MA @ Arts at the Armory #
Tue. Oct. 21 – Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall #
Thu. Oct. 23 – Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark #
Sat. Oct. 25 – Evanston, IL @ SPACE #
Sun. Oct. 26 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre #
Mon. Oct. 27 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry #
Thu. Nov. 13 – Seattle, WA @ Fremont Abbey Arts Center ^
Fri. Nov. 14 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios ^
Sat. Nov. 15 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret ^
Tue. Nov. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent ^
Thu. Nov. 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Highland Park Ebell ^+
Fri. Nov. 21 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy + Harriet’s ^
@ with Benjamin Francis Leftwich
# with Clover County
^ with Morgan Nagler
+ with Olivia Kaplan